Latest NASA Discovery Begs The Question: What Exactly Is A Dwarf Planet?

Just recently, a new body in the solar system, dubbed 2015 RR245 was discovered. From its orbit, scientists figured out that it is a member of the Kuiper Belt, with an estimated size of only 700 kilometers in diameter, roughly only half the size of Great Britain.

A new dwarf planet found far beyond Pluto orbits the sun once every 700 years https://t.co/1fGHDqYlMA pic.twitter.com/Tkim5PhUae

— Scientific American (@sciam) July 14, 2016

It has been agreed that with the little data that we do know about it, the body will be considered a dwarf planet. But why would this be a dwarf planet instead of an asteroid? Apparently there is a body that dictates these definitions.

Forbes said that it all comes down to the International Astronomical Union, which defines planets as objects orbiting the sun on its own, with a few conditions.

These conditions include the following:

It is large enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, and that it has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.

The first condition basically means that they have to be roughly spherical, but while Pluto does meet the shape requirement, it did not meet the second one, removing it from the list of planets in our solar system. Objects that only satisfy the first requirement is considered a dwarf planet - which is what Pluto is.

What made scientists almost miss the 2015 RR245 according to Seattle Pi was the fact that it has only been observed once for the seven hundred years that it takes to orbit the sun. How the orbit slowly evolves in the future is unknown, but until the precise orbit is refined, the planet will continue to keep its rather uninteresting name.

 However, The New York Times noted that if the planet's diameter is accurate, then the new dwarf planet would ranks as the 19^th largest potential dwarf planet in the solar system. Other large objects include Quaoar, Orcus, And Salacia, with a few other unnamed planets like the 2007 Or10 and 2002 MS4.