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The listed objects currently include most objects in the asteroid belt and moons of the giant planets in this size range, but many newly discovered objects in the outer Solar System are missing, such as those included in the following reference. [58] Asteroid spectral types are mostly Tholen, but some might be SMASS.
Because Eris appeared to be larger than Pluto, NASA initially described it as the Solar System's tenth planet. This, along with the prospect of other objects of similar size being discovered in the future, motivated the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time. Under the IAU definition approved on ...
The moons of the trans-Neptunian objects (other than Charon) have not been included, because they appear to follow the normal situation for TNOs rather than the moons of Saturn and Uranus, and become solid at a larger size (900–1000 km diameter, rather than 400 km as for the moons of Saturn and Uranus).
For almost 50 years, Pluto was thought to be larger than Mercury, [6] [7] but with the discovery in 1978 of Pluto's moon Charon, it became possible to measure Pluto's mass accurately and to determine that it was much smaller than initial estimates. [8] It was roughly one-twentieth the mass of Mercury, which made Pluto by far the smallest planet.
By RYAN GORMAN Scientists may have found Planet X -- the long-rumored object believed to be larger than Earth and further from the sun than Pluto. Planet X and another object dubbed "Planet Y ...
Kuiper-belt objects (KBOs) Plutinos. Orcus, a dwarf planet. Vanth; Pluto, a dwarf planet. Complete list of Pluto's natural satellites. Charon; Twotinos; Cubewanos (classical objects) Haumea, a dwarf planet. Namaka; Hiʻiaka; Quaoar, a dwarf planet. Weywot; Makemake, a dwarf planet (307261) 2002 MS 4; 120347 Salacia; 20000 Varuna; Scattered-disc ...
Since the year 2000, a number of Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) with diameters of between 500 and 1500 km (more than half that of Pluto) have been discovered. 50000 Quaoar, a classical KBO discovered in 2002, is over 1000 km across. Makemake and Haumea, both announced on 29 July 2005, are larger still.
Planetary-mass satellites larger than Pluto, the largest Solar dwarf planet. The three largest satellites Ganymede, Titan, and Callisto are of similar size or larger than the planet Mercury; these and four more – Io, the Moon, Europa, and Triton – are larger and more massive than the largest and most massive dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris.