what is the smallest planet in our galaxy?

Answer 1

First of all, it is not galaxy you are talking about, it is solar system. Secondly, a lot of people here are saying why ask such a stupid question. What most of them probably don't know is that while pluto is the smallest of our "officially classified" planets it has come to light in recent months that we may have more planets.

The debate has been raging on in the space exploration community that recently discovered bodies past pluto may actually be planets in our system as well. They are also saying they may take pluto off the official planet list because it is looking more and more like a captured asteroid compared to these new planets.

For those who want to read more about these new planets, do a search for the planet Xena (which is the temporary code name for the new planet).

In short, Pluto is "currently" the right answer but if it is removed from the list, then mercury will be the smallest planet.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Well, our galaxy is a pretty big place, and we've only found a couple dozen planets outside our solar system (because they're far away and hard to detect, not because they're not there)...so it's impossible to say which planet in our galaxy is the smallest until we know how many there are!

Now, in our *solar system* -- the smallest body that's recognized as a planet is Pluto -- which is currently the subject of much debate as to whether it fits the "planet" definition or not. Next smallest is Mercury.

Answer 3

I'm not sure about the galaxy... but the smalest known planet in our solar system (depending on what you consider a planet) is the 10th, just past pluto... I believe it's been called "planet X"... but that was before it was generaly considered a planet (it is still in heated debate, and I don't think NASA considers it a planet, though some astronomers seem to), as of now... I'm not sure what it's called... there is even debate over what object is "planet X"...

however, in our solar system, it is generaly most accepted that pluto is the smallest planet, with a diameter of 2,340 km (or about 1450mi)... VENUS IS NOT THE SMALLEST... WITH A DIA. OF ABOUT 12000Km (about 4.5 times larger).

mercury is the second smallest in our solar system, but is more than double the dia. of pluto.

I doubt that we know which planet in the galaxy is the smallest... it's a big place (to put it lightly)...

here's a neat article from NASA, but the planetary system it mentions is outside our galaxy http://universe.nasa.gov/press/2005/051129a.html

Answer 4

I think it's worth mentioning that almost all of the planets that have been discovered outside of our solar system have been super-massive. Some have been larger than Jupiter. And only one, as far as I know, has been found to be rock. So, the smallest planet in our solar system is the smallest known planet in the galaxy.

And that is tiny, little Pluto.

Answer 5

The galaxy is huge and unexplored, so we don't have an answer to that yet. The smallest planet in the Solar System is Pluto.

Answer 6

There are an estimated 200 to 400 billion stars in our galaxy. We have detailed knowledge of the planetary systems of exactly one of them, ours. There is also some debate over what constitues a planet and what is just a chunk of ice or rock.

Pluto may be the smallest planet in our solar system, but some people don't consider it a planet.

However, since there are hundreds of billions of solar systems that we haven't surveyed, the answer to this question is unknown.

Answer 7

No one can answer that question because it's impossible to know how many planets are in the Milky Way galaxy. I think you probably meant to ask which planet in our solar system is the smallest.

Answer 8

We haven't discovered all the planets in our galaxy. Of the known planets in our solar system, however, pluto is the smallest.

Answer 9

There is no definitive answer for this. What is and what is not a planet is still hotly debated. Many believe that pluto is not a planet. If pluto is a planet, then other objects in our solar system deserve planet status too, like large asteroids.

So in fact, there is no correct answer on this one.

Answer 10

Pluto