- #1
Madi Araly
- 19
- 1
Hi there,
I was reading up on how planets are classified based on their size, but ran into a problem when I began to consider rogue celestial bodies.
If a body has significant enough mass to maintain a hydrostatic equilibrium, yet doesn't orbit a star, I understand that it's classified as a rogue planet. The information taught in my current Earth & Space Science course states that the only difference between a regular planet and a dwarf is that regular planets have cleared the neighborhood around their orbits, but how are the two differentiated between if not explicitly orbiting any stars?
Is there a standard mass that we use to do so? I can't imagine this would be the case since we can't accurately measure mass for those light years away, but I don't see another clear way that we could categorize a planet.
I was reading up on how planets are classified based on their size, but ran into a problem when I began to consider rogue celestial bodies.
If a body has significant enough mass to maintain a hydrostatic equilibrium, yet doesn't orbit a star, I understand that it's classified as a rogue planet. The information taught in my current Earth & Space Science course states that the only difference between a regular planet and a dwarf is that regular planets have cleared the neighborhood around their orbits, but how are the two differentiated between if not explicitly orbiting any stars?
Is there a standard mass that we use to do so? I can't imagine this would be the case since we can't accurately measure mass for those light years away, but I don't see another clear way that we could categorize a planet.