Pluto's status as a planet
- Cause of death
- Killed by regulation
424 astronomers in Prague voted to define "planet" in a way that excluded it.
Pluto was a planet for 76 years on the strength of having been found. The IAU's 2006 vote required a planet to orbit the Sun, be round, and have cleared its orbital neighbourhood; Pluto manages the first two. The decision was made by a fraction of the IAU's membership present on the final day of the General Assembly, which is part of why the public never fully accepted it and why the argument is still live twenty years later.
Standing in the archive
Rank 16 of 127 by lifespan. Pluto's status as a planet outlasted 88% of everything else on file.
Cite this entry
"Pluto's status as a planet." How Long It Lasted, https://www.howlongitlasted.com/thing/pluto-planet-status.
Died nearby
- Alert Energy Caffeine Gum9 days · killed by regulation
- Boeing 767 Freighterabout 31 years · killed by regulation
- Cape Kennedyabout 9 years · killed by regulation
- Ceylon, as a country nameabout 138 years · killed by regulation
- Czechoslovakia, as a country nameabout 74 years · killed by regulation
Sources
- IAU 2006 General Assembly: Result of the IAU Resolution votes — International Astronomical Union (archived)
- Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto is demoted — Astronomy Magazine (archived)
Last checked by a human on 24 July 2026