Questions regarding celestial bodies that are in hydrostatic equilibrium (spheroidal) and orbit the Sun directly, but do not fulfill the IAU's criterion of "clearing" their neighbourhood of planetesimals.
Questions tagged [dwarf-planets]
41 questions
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IAU Dwarf planet definition Point 2.b - is not a satellite
I am a bit confused with point 2.d of the IAU's resolution on dwarf planets.
(2) A "dwarf planet" is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes…
cstruter
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When the set of official dwarf planets is expected to increase?
When the set of official dwarf planets is expected to increase or new bodies considered for inclusion?
Anixx
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What does it mean for a planet to be just 300 kms across?
The recently discovered Planet Goblin is just 300 kms across. While I perfectly understand what it literally means, I'm having trouble wrapping this in my head. Does it mean I can imagine the planet as (approximately) a sphere for 300 kms diameter?…
WorldGov
- 121
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What is the percent flattening in Haumea?
I've recently noticed that in Wikipedia articles such as Pluto (Link), there's this number that says how much flattened it is (Definition Here). In Pluto, it's >1%.
Haumea, which is a very flattened dwarf planet, actually doesn't have this…
MystaryPi
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