Despite the fact that Jupiter and Pluto nearly align along the same line of sight throughout 2020, these two worlds are not close in space. Jupiter is little more than 5 astronomical units (AU) from the sun, but Pluto lies far beyond Jupiter, in the Kuiper Belt, at more than 34 AU. Jupiter and Pluto cross paths every 360 days, but because Jupiter is so much bigger than Pluto, its orbit is not affected much by their gravitational pull. If anything, Jupiter's gravity makes Pluto orbit the sun faster than it would otherwise, but this effect is very small — only about 1 millimeter per year faster than if they were not connected. These objects are all gas giants, with Pluto being the only one that has a solid surface. The other three planets in our solar system: Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. All are very important factors when it comes to understanding how planets are formed and why some turn out to be rockier or gassier than others. Pluto was originally considered a planet until 2015, when scientists voted to remove it from the list because it does not meet the requirements for being called a planet. Now it is classified as a dwarf planet because it doesn't reach the mass threshold necessary to be listed as a planet under most definitions. Dwarf planets are known as such because they are less massive than stars but more than rocks.