what constitutes a planet????????????????????????????????

Answer 1

a planet is round and orbits the sun in an isolated orbit (no other similar bodies have similar orbits.)

http://www.iau.org/fileadmin/content/pdfs/Resolution_GA26-5-6.pdf

pluto and charon are considered a binary system, but two small bodies orbit this system. they are called nix and hydra. this does not change anything about the solar system or pluto. it just corrects the mistake of classifying pluto as a planet initially.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_Ceres
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_%28dwarf_planet%29

pluto orbits the sun, is round, does not have an isolated orbit (a bunch of other similar bodies have similar orbits.), and is not a satellite so it is a dwarf planet.

this same thing has happened before. beginning in 1800, astronomers found a few bodies orbiting between the orbits of mars and jupiter, and they finally stopped calling them planets after the fourth discovery. astronomers then added numerals to the names, and pluto recently got its numeral. 150 years from now, no one will think of "134340 pluto" as a planet. very few will even know we classified it as a planet. "1 ceres" and "136199 eris" are other dwarf planets.

i have been waiting for this since i was about twelve. i feel somewhat satisfied. i knew that pluto didn't fit the pattern set by the major bodies in the solar system so it was an anomaly. it just felt illogical and "out of place". this was the right thing to do, believe me. i don't understand why so many are having such a problem with this.

i don't know how long this will drag on tho. many planetary scientists are not satisfied that the definition is rigorous enough.

Answer 2

I'm not an astrologist but this was in the paper a couple of weeks back when they delisted pluto. From memory the requirements were.
Stable orbit around a sun
Sufficient gravity to create a roughly spherical shape and clear asteroids, debris and dust from it's orbit.

Answer 3

The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the official scientific body for astronomical nomenclature, currently defines "planet" as a celestial body that, within the Solar System

(a) is in orbit around the Sun;
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape; and
(c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit;

or within another system,
(i) is in orbit around a star or stellar remnants;
(ii) has a mass below the limiting mass for thermonuclear fusion of deuterium; and
(iii) is above the minimum mass/size requirement for planetary status in our solar system.

Answer 4

first there is the atmosphere. in our case, we hav 5 layers to our atmosphere. then there is the crust,mantle,inner/outer core. that is wat a planet is made of. 1 theorie that has been developed is that the only reason that life is possible on earth is that microorganisms evolved from single celled organisms to multi-cellular organisms.mthey evolved and became pre-historic fish. then they developed legs and so starts life on earth. i hope that tells u something that u wanted to no. if not srry.

Answer 5

lotz of thing like silicon,co2,o2,so2,molten iron and many mineral...
deep u go more u find the mineral.

Answer 6

matter. what else?

Answer 7

Rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Other Stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!