Dwarf planet be discovered, and the number of planets would start growing quickly if Pluto were to remain a planet. Eris (then known as ) was discovered in January 2005; it was thought to be slightly larger than Pluto, and some reports informally referred to it as the "tenth planet". As a consequence, the issue became a matter of intense debate during the IAU General Assembly in August 2006. The IAU's initial draft proposal included Charon, Eris, and Ceres in the list of planets. After many astronomers objected to this proposal, an alternative was drawn up by the Uruguayan astronomers Julio Ángel
Dwarf planet recognized five bodies as dwarf planets since 2008: Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake. Ceres and Pluto are known to be dwarf planets through direct observation. Eris is recognized as a dwarf planet because it is more massive than Pluto (measurements by "New Horizons" indicate that Pluto's diameter is larger than that of Eris), whereas Haumea and Makemake qualify based on their absolute magnitudes. In relative distance from the Sun, the five are: Mike Brown considers an additional six trans-Neptunian objects to be "nearly certainly" dwarf planets with diameters at or above 900 kilometers. These objects are: Tancredi et al.