Dwarf Planets
Reference > Science > The Solar SystemIt's not difficult to understand what a Dwarf Planet is. First, though, you need to understand the official definition of a planet. A planet meets the following criteria:
- It orbits the sun, not another body.
- It has enough mass that its own gravity molds it into a spherical or near-spherical shape.
- It has cleared large objects out of its path (large objects will either collide with it, or be hurled away from it).
Similarly, we can see that the asteroids of the asteroid belt aren't classified as planets, even though they orbit the sun. They aren't massive enough to be spherical in shape.
But what about Dwarf Planets? What are they? Dwarf Planets are objects which satisfy the first two rules above, but not the third one. Thus, though Pluto orbits the sun, and it is massive enough for its own gravity to shape it into a sphere, it has not cleared large objects (like Charon) out of its path. Thus, it is a Dwarf Planet, rather than a planet.
Questions
1.
Which of the following objects are planets? Mercury, Phobos, Jupiter, Charon, Pluto
2.
Why do you think Charon isn't classified as a dwarf planet?
3.
Why don't asteroids in the asteroid belt even qualify as dwarf planets?
Assign this reference page
Click here to assign this reference page to your students.Pluto
Unit Index
Blogs on This Site
Reviews and book lists - books we love!
The site administrator fields questions from visitors.
Like us on Facebook to get updates about new resources