Pluto Gets a Numerical Denomination
- Weeks after it was demoted to a sub-planetary status, Pluto was given a new name to reflect its new status as a dwarf in September, 2006. The former 9th planet was assigned the asteroid number 134340 by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), the official organization responsible for collecting date about asteroids and comets in our Solar System.
- Pluto's companion satellites, Charon (Pluto;s largest moon), Nix and Hydra are considered part of the same system and will not be assigned separate asteroid number. Instead they will now be called 134340 i, ii and iii respectively.
- Before loosing its planetary status on the 24th August, 2006 Pluto was the outermost planet of the Solar System.
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