Question

The Solar System has

• A. nine planets
• B. seven planets
• C. eleven planets
• D. eight planets

Hint:

Remember the 8 planets using the mnemonic:
"My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles'' – for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The Solar System is made up of the Sun and everything that orbits around it, including planets, moons, asteroids, and comets.
Originally, textbooks taught that the Solar System had 9 planets. However, in 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined what it means to be a planet. According to this new definition, Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet," leaving us with 8 planets.
The 8 planets (in order from the Sun):
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune
Why Pluto is not included: Pluto does not clear its orbital path of other debris, which is a requirement in the updated definition of a planet. Therefore, it is not counted among the main planets anymore.