In 2006 Pluto lost its designation as a planet. What else did it lose at the same time?
As part of the demotion process from planet to dwarf planet, to maintain consistency Pluto was stripped of its name and given a number like all other non-planetary objects in the solar system. Pluto was reclassified and renamed with the designation 134340. The decision was made to reinforce Pluto’s demotion - every asteroid in our solar system is given a number, so the same process was taken to officially ‘dwarf’ the former planet.
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