27-January-2005, 02:56 PM
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Established Member
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Philadelphia
Posts: 1,247
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Originally Posted by Saluki
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Originally Posted by russ_watters
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Originally Posted by Saluki
AFAIK, there is no precise definition, but IMO there is room for the smaller irregular-shaped moons to be called moons. Probably the biggest criteria to be called a moon is that it is an object in a stable orbit around a planet, which brings us to another definitional connundrum. What is a planet?
I would argue that Titan is more a planet than Pluto or Mercury.
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Well, just like a moon is an object orbiting a planet, a planet must be orbiting the sun. So, Titan doesn't qualify. |
By who's definition? IIRC, there is no formal definition as yet. |
???? Doesn't a dictionary qualify? http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=moon
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[mooon]: natural satellite revolving around a planet.
[planet]: A nonluminous celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves.
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