Latest about Dwarf Planets
US Makes First Plutonium in 25 Years, for Spacecraft
The Department of Energy has made its first plutonium-238 in a quarter century.
Rare plutonium from space found in deep-sea crust
A rare type of plutonium has been found in the crust below the deep sea, offering new clues as to how heavy metals form in star explosions and mergers.
Plutonium: Facts about the radioactive element
Reference Plutonium is the 94th element in the periodic table and one of the most dangerous elements on Earth.
Dwarf planet collision may have sent strange ultra-hard diamonds to Earth
Strange hexagonal diamonds may have been jettisoned into space when a dwarf planet collided with a large asteroid around 4.5 billion years ago.
Radioactive heat in Ceres drove dwarf planet's fractured geology
A new model exploring the dwarf planet Ceres suggests radioactivity deep in the small world may have created criss-crossed geology at its surface.
Jupiter's massive gravity kicked strange Ceres into the asteroid belt
A new computer simulation suggests that dwarf planet Ceres may have been flung by the gravity of gas giant Jupiter into the asteroid belt during the volatile era of planet formation.
Curious kids: What is a dwarf planet?
In 2006, and after much debate, the International Astronomical Union came up with a new definition for a planet. And for the first time, the term "dwarf planet" was used.
