Is Eris The Tenth Planet?

Eris is not the tenth planet, but it almost was!

Imagine you're playing a game where you count how many balls are on the floor. You see 8 big balls, and you think that's all. But then someone drops two more balls, one bigger than the others, and another not too far behind.

That’s what happened with Eris, it’s like that second ball that almost counted as a planet! Scientists used to say there were 9 planets in our solar system, but when they found Eris, it looked so much like Pluto (the ninth planet), they thought maybe Pluto wasn’t special enough to be a planet anymore.

So for a while, people said there were 10 planets, including Eris. But then scientists had another argument, this time about what makes something a planet. In the end, they decided that Pluto and its friends (like Eris) are dwarf planets, not full planets.

Eris is still cool, it’s just not big enough to be the tenth planet! Eris is not the tenth planet, but it almost was!

Imagine you're playing a game where you count how many balls are on the floor. You see 8 big balls, and you think that's all. But then someone drops two more balls, one bigger than the others, and another not too far behind.

That’s what happened with Eris, it’s like that second ball that almost counted as a planet! Scientists used to say there were 9 planets in our solar system, but when they found Eris, it looked so much like Pluto (the ninth planet), they thought maybe Pluto wasn’t special enough to be a planet anymore.

So for a while, people said there were 10 planets, including Eris. But then scientists had another argument, this time about what makes something a planet. In the end, they decided that Pluto and its friends (like Eris) are dwarf planets, not full planets.

Eris is still cool, it’s just not big enough to be the tenth planet!