List of possible dwarf planets

The number of dwarf planets in the Solar System is unknown. Estimates have run as high as 200 in the Kuiper belt and over 10,000 in the region beyond.However, consideration of the surprisingly low densities of many dwarf-planet candidates suggests that the numbers may be much lower (e.g. at most 10 among bodies known so far). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) notes five in particular: Ceres in the inner Solar System and four in the trans-Neptunian region: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake, the last two of which were accepted as dwarf planets for naming purposes. Only Pluto is confirmed as a dwarf planet, and it has also been declared one by the IAU independently of whether it meets the IAU definition of a dwarf planet.

List of possible dwarf planets

The number of dwarf planets in the Solar System is unknown. Estimates have run as high as 200 in the Kuiper belt and over 10,000 in the region beyond.However, consideration of the surprisingly low densities of many dwarf-planet candidates suggests that the numbers may be much lower (e.g. at most 10 among bodies known so far). The International Astronomical Union (IAU) notes five in particular: Ceres in the inner Solar System and four in the trans-Neptunian region: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake, the last two of which were accepted as dwarf planets for naming purposes. Only Pluto is confirmed as a dwarf planet, and it has also been declared one by the IAU independently of whether it meets the IAU definition of a dwarf planet.