Which are the four planets that are collectively known as plutoids?

According to International Astronomical Union (IAU), which began meeting in August of 2006, the term Plutoid now applies to Pluto, as well as any other small stellar body that exist beyond the range of Neptune.

Pluto was to these stellar objects what Ceres was to large objects in the asteroid belt – that is to say, comparable in size. Astronomers proposed several names for these objects, but matters did not come to a head until Eris was discovered. This dwarf planet was actually larger than Pluto, 2500 km in diameter, making it twenty-seven percent larger than Pluto.

In the end, the IAU could only resolve this matter by removing Pluto from the list of planets and devising a new category for dwarf planets that could no longer be considered true planets. Plutoid was the result, and now applies to the trans-Neptunian objects of Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris.

 

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