Do Pluto and its largest moon form a 'double planet'?

The mysterious dwarf continues to surprise scientists, as a newly discovered moon resurrects a debate over the former planet's status

An image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows five moons orbiting the distant, icy dwarf planet Pluto: The green circle marks the newly discovered moon, designated P5.
(Image credit: NASA; ESA; M. Showalter, SETI Institute)

In 2006, Pluto lost its status as a full-fledged planet and was controversially reclassified as a "dwarf planet," causing more than a few flustered high school science teachers across the country to reach for the Advil. But Pluto's new designation hardly ended the debate. Just last week, a newly discovered moon was spotted hovering in Pluto's orbit, giving the celestial body at least five moons on record. And that got space junkies thinking: With a multitude of hard-to-categorize rocky satellites flying around Pluto, is it possible the 1,421-mile-long world and one of its moons are actually both planets? Here's what you should know:

Remind me again: Why isn't Pluto considered a planet?

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