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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-05-14, 12:26

Quote:
Originally Posted by Banana View Post
If orbiting a sun is all it takes to be a planet, then that would mean that Pluto would still be a planet. Obviously, it's a bit more than that. Damned if I know the formal definition, since I'm a long cry from being an astronomer.
As am I, but I remember something about it has to be big enough to have gravitationally collapsed into something roundish, and it has to have cleared its orbit of debris. There is an asteroid in the asteroid belt (more specifically, it's either a Dwarf Planet or a Minor Planet, depending on who you ask) that passes the first test, but not the second. And, of course, I could be mis-remembering the whole thing.

And now my curiosity has gotten the better of me...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wikipedia
A planet (from Greek πλανήτης αστήρ "wandering star") is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.

When I was a kid, people who did wrong were punished, restricted, and forbidden. Now, when someone does wrong, all of the rest of us are punished, restricted, and forbidden... and the one who did the wrong is counselled and "understood" and fed ice cream.
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