The wording of the proposed changes is:"A planet is a celestial body that (a) has
sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces
so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape,
and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a
satellite of a planet." Member of the Planet Definition Committee,
Richard Binzel says: "Our goal was to find a scientific basis for a
new definition of planet and we chose gravity as the determining
factor. Nature decides whether or not an object is a planet."
According to the new draft definition, two conditions must be
satisfied for an object to be called a "planet." First, the object
must be in orbit around a star, while not being itself a star.
Second, the object must be large enough (or more technically
correct, massive enough) for its own gravity to pull it into a
nearly spherical shape. The shape of objects with mass above 5 x
1020 kg and diameter greater than 800 km would normally be
determined by self-gravity, but all borderline cases would have to
be established by observation.
Muons,Neutrons,Quarks,Photons,Gravitons,Gluons,Bar yons,Quanta,
Positrons,Hadrons,Leptons,Chaos,Neutrinos,Mesons,P rotons,
Quasars,Pulsars,Gravitinos,Gamma rays,N=8,Time,Superstrings,10_eV,10_GeV,Entropy,Ha wking radiation,AND Schrodinger's cat.
Where will it ever end?
Slashdot Mirror
The wording of the proposed changes is:"A planet is a celestial body that (a) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (b) is in orbit around a star, and is neither a star nor a satellite of a planet." Member of the Planet Definition Committee, Richard Binzel says: "Our goal was to find a scientific basis for a new definition of planet and we chose gravity as the determining factor. Nature decides whether or not an object is a planet." According to the new draft definition, two conditions must be satisfied for an object to be called a "planet." First, the object must be in orbit around a star, while not being itself a star. Second, the object must be large enough (or more technically correct, massive enough) for its own gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape. The shape of objects with mass above 5 x 1020 kg and diameter greater than 800 km would normally be determined by self-gravity, but all borderline cases would have to be established by observation.
Muons,Neutrons,Quarks,Photons,Gravitons,Gluons,Bar yons,Quanta,
Positrons,Hadrons,Leptons,Chaos,Neutrinos,Mesons,P rotons,
Quasars,Pulsars,Gravitinos,Gamma rays,N=8,Time,Superstrings,10_eV,10_GeV,Entropy,Ha wking radiation,AND Schrodinger's cat.
Where will it ever end?