dwarf planet

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia

Body, other than a natural satellite (moon), that orbits the Sun and that is, for practical purposes, smaller than the planet Mercury yet large enough for its own gravity to have rounded its shape substantially. The International Astronomical Union adopted this category of solar system bodies in August 2006, designating Pluto, the even more-remote object Eris, and the asteroid Ceres as the first members of the category. Unlike major planets, these three bodies are not massive enough and are in orbits too elliptical, too inclined, or both to have swept up most smaller nearby bodies by gravitational attraction; they thus failed to grow larger.


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Oh, heavens! Pluto is now called a plutoid
; ...It rolls off the tongue easier than dwarf planet," said Carolyn Kaichi, Bishop Museum...manager, explaining she has to say "dwarf planet" a lot in talks to planetarium visitors...main planets in the solar system to a dwarf planet in hotly debated action by the International... Read more
Dwarf planet discord.
; ...24, Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet, leaving only eight true planets in...Now, astronomers have given another dwarf planet an official name. Once known as Xena, the dwarf planet's new name is Eris, after the Greek... Read more
New Pluto model to be unveiled Friday
; ...was no longer a planet but rather a "dwarf planet." The status change came after the IAU...decision was made, Pluto was downgraded to "dwarf planet" status, which altered not only its...in the spotlight. A new model of the dwarf planet Pluto will be added to the model Friday... Read more
A discordant name for a dwarf planet.(PLANETARY SCIENCE)
; ...called a planet. The IAU voted on Aug. 24 to demote Pluto to dwarf planet, a classification that the group devised to separate these...invoking strife and lawlessness are perfect for the newly named dwarf planet and its moon, says Mike Brown of the California Institute... Read more
Pluto, plutoid: what's in a name?
; ...classification of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet. Now, the same organization has come...objects apart from another solar system dwarf planet called Ceres, which resides in the asteroid...distinction, he says. Ceres is a rocky dwarf planet, while Pluto is icy. Because the two... Read more
Dwarf planet gets name amid discord.
; ...But the astronomer who christened the dwarf planet--now officially called Eris--said Thursday...suggestion of the name Dysnomia for the dwarf planet's tiny moon. In mythology Dysnomia was...Now the best one can do is discover a dwarf planet. Brown said that back when he thought... Read more
For Pluto, a Smaller World After All; Astronomers' Reclassification Strips Ninth Planet of Status in Solar System
; ...still have stature -- it becomes a "dwarf planet" and the prototype of a new, as yet...planetary astronomers can be." The "dwarf planet" classification to which Pluto was relegated...received in some quarters. "Pluto is a dwarf planet, but we are now faced with the absurdity... Read more
Pluto row could lead to Neptune losing planet status
; ...astronomers voted to downgrade Pluto into the dwarf planet category. Experts claim that the definition...to demote Pluto to the status of a "dwarf planet" has allowed them to deal with the difficult...Neptune, meaning that it was classed as a dwarf planet as it had not cleared its ... Read more
Dwarf planet named after the Greek goddess Eris.
; ...But the astronomer who christened the dwarf planet _ now officially called Eris _ said...suggestion of the name Dysnomia for the dwarf planet's tiny moon. In mythology Dysnomia was...Now the best one can do is discover a dwarf planet. (END OPTIONAL TRIM) Brown said that... Read more
RETAIL SPACE
; Chris Spurgeon, a Web programmer in Los Angeles, worked yesterday at his to a dwarf planet bombarded the Internet to hawk memorabilia. Read more

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

dwarf planet
dwarf planet A new category of planet introduced in...Astronomical Union. As defined by the IAU, a dwarf planet has mass sufficient for its own gravity...disturbance. The first three recognized dwarf planets are Ceres , Eris , and Pluto . Read more
brown dwarf
in astronomy, celestial body that is larger than a planet but does not have sufficient mass to convert hydrogen into...Pleiades star cluster in 1995. The first X-ray-emitting brown dwarf was detected in Chamaeleon dark cloud number I in 1998...methane could form in their atmospheres. The closest brown dwarf ... Read more
brown dwarf
Astronomical object intermediate in mass between a planet and a star . Sometimes described as failed stars, brown...cool rapidly and shrink; they may differ from high-mass planets only in how they form. brown dwarf brown dwarf brown dwarf Read more
brown dwarf
brown dwarf An object that, because of its low mass (less than 0.08...component of the galactic dark matter . The first brown dwarf to be identified with certainty was a companion to the nearby red dwarf Gliese 229, photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope...dwarfs are now assigned the spectral types L ... Read more
planet
...the Sun or another star ( planets of other stars ) and that...internal nuclear fusion; dwarf planet s, comet s, asteroid s, meteoroids...although it was recognized as a planet for decades, is distinct...smaller than any of the eight planets and resembling a giant comet...Pluto to the ... Read more

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