Thread: What really irks me about the new planet definition.
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Old 12-September-2006, 05:26 AM
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Kristophe Kristophe is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Wilson View Post
How does that not define planets around other stars?
What you've quoted is not what the IAU has decided.

Quote:
RESOLUTION 5A
The IAU therefore resolves that "planets" and other bodies in our Solar System, except satellites, be defined into three distinct categories in the following way:

(1) A "planet"1 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 a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape, and (c) has cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit.
Sun with a capital S is our sun. The definition only applies to objects in our solar system.
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