Pluto in size of Charon and Pluto has prompted some astronomers to call it a double dwarf planet. The system is also unusual among planetary systems in that each is tidally locked to the other, which means that Pluto and Charon always have the same hemisphere facing each other. From any position on either body, the other is always at the same position in the sky, or always obscured. This also means that the rotation period of each is equal to the time it takes the entire system to rotate around its barycenter. In 2007, observations by the Gemini Observatory of
Eris (dwarf planet) decide the issue. This was announced as the IAU's "Definition of a Planet in the Solar System," adopted on 24 August 2006. At this time, both Eris and Pluto were classified as "dwarf planets," a category distinct from the new definition of "planet." Brown has since stated his approval of this classification. The IAU subsequently added Eris to its Minor Planet Catalogue, designating it "(136199) Eris." Eris has an orbital period of 558 years. Its maximum possible distance from the Sun (aphelion) is 97.65 AU, and its closest (perihelion) is 37.91 AU. It came to perihelion between 1698 and 1699,