in the lack of an atmosphere and with limited gravity, most shapes in space revolve into a sphere.
It is because it is a very good shape, and you get the most volume for the least amount of surface area.
it is the same reason that bubbles form in the shape they do.
here is what the lancing state journal says
Yes, Planets seem to be spheres, not cubes or cylinders or oddball rocky shapes. Some smaller bodies such as asteroids or Mars moons Phobos and Deimos, do have odd shapes, but larger bodies like the nine planets and most of their moons do look like spheres. That's because of the nature of gravity. You can think of gravity as a force that points inward toward the center of the planet so that every part of the surface is pulled evenly toward the center, resulting in a spherical shape.
Of course, planets are not perfect spheres because mountains and valleys and even skyscrapers are all deviations from the spherical shape. However, as planets get larger, gravity gets stronger, until eventually large objects on the surface are crushed under their own weight. That's why we don't have mountains that are 50 miles high or skyscrapers that are 2,000 stories tall. Planets stay basically spherical because any large deviations get crushed.
Although gravity keeps planets close to spherical, there are other forces that cause deviations from the basic spherical shape. For example, the rotation of the earth once every 24 hours, causes an apparent centrifugal force which creates a bulge at the equator. In fact the earth's diameter at the equator is 7,926 miles while the diameter between the poles is only 7,900.
2007-03-18 21:17:14
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answer #1
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answered by Adorabilly 5
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Planets are shaped like a sphere because gravity forces them to. Also, planets are not perfectly spherical but are a little bulging on the sides and long on the top and bottom
2007-03-18 22:49:27
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Gravity. It draws all the material into a spherical shape which has the least surface area for a given volume thus minimising the net energy.
2007-03-18 21:25:01
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answer #3
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answered by ag_iitkgp 7
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no longer all satellites (moons) have a around shape, there are some exceptions like Deimos and Phobos - Mar's twin moons which resemble and characteristic extra features of late that scientists think of of declassifying them as surely satellites. Gravity as mentioned, performs a key function in the formation of planets and satellites, packing all cloth densly mutually and around is between the traditionally frequently going on astronomical shapes that gravity generates on any mass. With each and every thing even in spite of the shown fact that, spheres are in basic terms one shape a physique can handle, in case you look at asteroids, comets, and each thing between, gravity is likewise a cosmic puzzle to us. As for keeping their shapes sooner or later, gravity is often changing, and with combinations of a planet's gravity on its satellite tv for pc(s), something is attainable , that they are going to be torn into fragments, from gravitational forces, interplanetary collisions, photograph voltaic erruptions, or in basic terms stay the comparable as they are actually till the loss of life of the device. Too many variables makes for a great array of technology fiction over here couple of million years to be written.
2016-10-02 09:09:15
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answer #4
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answered by ? 4
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gravity.
gravity pulls with equal force from all directions towards the center of mass. so things tend to end up spherical if they contain enough mass to uniformely distribute their material. ie, if they have enough pull to shape themselves, they will end up as a sphere becuase gravity is pulling in every direction at once.
2007-03-18 21:21:54
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answer #5
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answered by paradiddle_360 2
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It is an "economical shape", having the smallest surface area per volume contained. Also explains soap bubbles, rain drops. And fat people. They are never rectangular.
2007-03-18 21:15:13
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answer #6
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answered by ZORCH 6
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Gravity. It pulls all that matter as close togeter as possible. That results in a sphere.
2007-03-18 21:18:45
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answer #7
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answered by Jim S 5
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