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Article: Mission to Pluto: a spacecraft journeys toward the new dwarf planet.(Cover story)
- Article from:
- WR News, Edition 4 (including Science Spin)
- Article date:
- October 6, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Scientists kick Pluto out of the planet family, but that's not stopping a spacecraft from heading its way
Before You Read
Ask students: What do you know about our solar system? How many planets can you name? Why might Pluto no longer be classified as a planet?
Vocabulary
astronomer: a scientist who studies space
dwarf planet: a distinct class of space objects that includes Pluto, Ceres, and "Xena"
Kuiper belt: a wide band of icy and rocky objects on the outer edges of our solar system