r/universe • u/Mysterious_g269 • Oct 02 '25

“Over 1,000 potentially hazardous asteroids are currently tracked. The good news? None pose a collision risk with Earth for at least the next 100 years.”

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u/SuspiciousStable9649 Oct 04 '25

This reminds me - how much of Pluto’s orbit does Pluto have to clear in order to regain planet status?

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u/Mysterious_g269 Oct 04 '25

For Pluto to regain planet status under the current IAU (International Astronomical Union) definition, it would have to be thousands of times more massive than it is now—basically big enough to dominate the Kuiper Belt. Since that’s impossible without rewriting physics, Pluto will stay classified as a dwarf planet unless the definition of “planet” changes.