A dwarf planet is a celestial body that orbits the Sun and is roughly spherical in shape, but has not cleared its orbit of other debris, such as asteroids or comets, like a regular planet. According to the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) definition, there are currently five recognized dwarf planets in our solar system: Pluto, Eris, Haumea, Makemake, and Ceres. These bodies are similar to planets in many ways but are classified separately due to their inability to meet the "clearing the orbit" criterion.
