Why is Eris a dwarf planet?
Hubble Space Telescope images have resolved the size of Eris showing it to be as large as, or larger than Pluto, Brown (2006).More important, Eris was found to have a satellite, which was later named Dysnomia, after the Greek demon of lawlessness who was Eris’ daughter. In 2007, the mass of Eris was determined to be (1.66 ± 0.02)×1022 kg, 27% greater than Pluto, based on observations of the orbit of Dysnomia. Eris also orbits within the transneptunian region – a region that has not been cleared out. Therefore Eris is a dwarf planet. Q: What is an object called that is too small to be either a planet or dwarf planet? A: All objects that orbit the Sun that are too small (not massive enough) for their own gravity to pull them into a nearly spherical shape are now defined as being small Solar System bodies. This class currently includes most of the Solar System asteroids, near-Earth objects (NEOs), Mars and Jupiter Trojan asteroids, most Centaurs, most Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) and co
