what is a planet? by: mallory kimble, vanessa vanscyoc, and alison koehler
TRANSCRIPT
Our Planet Definition
• We believe a planet must...– A. Must orbit the Sun – B. Rotational period less than 60 Earth
days– C. Must have a low eccentricity (less
than 0.5) – D. Must be within 30 AU’s from the Sun. – E. Must have a diameter larger than
1,000 km across.
If it is not a planet…
If the object in space is not classified as a planet, it will either fall under:
A.) Dwarf planet:• Does not meet all of the requirements of a
planet, but meets at least 2. B.) Small Solar System Bodies: • Anything else in space that is not manmade. C.) Man-made object:• Anything in our Solar System that is not
there naturally ( is man-made).
Based on our definition…
Planets Dwarf Planets
Small Solar
System Bodies
Man-made
Objects
Mercury, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
Venus, Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Huamea, Makemake.
All asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and “natural space junk” inside our Solar System.
ISS, rovers, satellites, and all other man-made objects outside of Earth.
Mean Distance from Sun
0.00000
10.00000
20.00000
30.00000
40.00000
50.00000
60.00000
70.00000
80.00000
Merc
ury
VenusEarth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Ceres
Pluto
Haumea
Makem
ake Eris
Planets
Mea
n D
ista
nce
fro
m S
un
(A
U)
Orbital Period
0.000
20.000
40.000
60.000
80.000
100.000
120.000
140.000
160.000
180.000
Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Ceres
Planets
Orb
ital
Per
iod
(E
arth
Yea
rs)
Orbital Period
0.000
100.000
200.000
300.000
400.000
500.000
600.000
Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris
Planets
Orb
ital
Per
iod
(E
arth
Yea
rs)
Rotational Period
0.000
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
Mercury Venus
Planets
Ro
tati
on
al P
erio
d (
Ear
th D
ays)
Rotational Period Cont
0.000
1.000
2.000
3.000
4.000
5.000
6.000
7.000
Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris
Planets
Ro
tati
on
al P
erio
d
Number of Moons (Dwarf Planets)
0
1
1
2
2
3
3
4
Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris
Planets
Nu
mb
er o
f M
oo
ns
Diameter of Planets
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
160000
Merc
ury
VenusEarth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Ceres
Pluto
Haumea
Make
make
Eris
planets
dia
met
er(k
m)
Planets Mass compared to Earth
0.00000
0.20000
0.40000
0.60000
0.80000
1.00000
1.20000
Mercury Venus Earth Mars
Planets
Mas
s (E
arth
=1)
Planet's Mass compared to Earth (2)
0.00000
50.00000
100.00000
150.00000
200.00000
250.00000
300.00000
350.00000
Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune
Planets
Mas
s (E
arth
=1)
Dwarf Planets Mass Earth=1
0.00000
0.00050
0.00100
0.00150
0.00200
0.00250
0.00300
Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris
Planets
mas
s E
arth
=1