01 May - The planet Pluto is officially named 1930

 

Pluto was officially named on May 1, 1930, by an 11-year-old English schoolgirl named Venetia Burney. Venetia suggested the name "Pluto" after the Roman god of the underworld, and her idea was eventually accepted. The name was announced on May 1, 1930, the 11th birthday of Venetia Burney, and it has been used ever since to refer to the distant dwarf planet at the edge of our solar system.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the criteria for classifying celestial bodies, which led to Pluto being reclassified as a "dwarf planet" rather than a full-fledged planet. According to the new definition, a planet is defined as a celestial body that orbits the Sun, is spherical in shape due to its own gravity, and has cleared its orbital path of other debris.

Pluto meets the first two criteria, as it orbits the Sun and is spherical in shape. However, it does not meet the third criterion because its orbit overlaps with that of other objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of the solar system beyond Neptune populated by icy bodies.

As a result, Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet, along with other similar objects in the Kuiper Belt. While it remains an important and fascinating object of study, it is no longer considered one of the traditional planets in our solar system.