Pluto, the icy object at the end of our solar system, has endured a rocky road since it was discovered in 1930. From its honorable designation as the ninth planet to its demotion to a dwarf a decade ago, Pluto is no longer an elite member of the planetary family. Saturday marks the 87th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery, so to celebrate, here are eight facts about the lonely object at the edge of the solar system.

It’s incredibly small for a planet. The icy dwarf is only around 1,400 miles wide, or about only half the width of the United States, with a diameter about two-thirds that of earth's moon.

In this handout provided by NASA, Pluto nearly fills the frame in this image from the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager aboard NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, July 13, 2015. Photo: Getty

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