this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
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Size doesn't matter
Correct, it's called planet when it orbits arround the Sun AND has cleaned it's orbit from asteroids, not the case of Pluto, whose orbit is still full of other objects, some even bigger than Pluto itself.
If it orbits an Planet instead of the Sun, it's a Moon, even if it is bigger than some other planets.
"All right, Ganymede. You can be a planet, but first you have to clean up your orbit. Start with Jupiter."
Villain origin story
Jupiter, largest of all dwarf planets, shares its orbit with some i don't know million asteroids.
I've often thought that 'clearing' it's orbit is misleading. I believe the definition ought to be changed to 'controls' or 'governs' its orbit. This allows for objects in stable L4/L5 locations without inviting the caveats that 'clearing' needs.
Its because its a colloquial phrase that more or less the media picked up and ran with.
Actual astronomers and astrophysicists use math to describe what they're talking about, math that you can find and learn fairly easily on wikipedia.
Lay people tend to just evaluate a phrase for its extremely literal meaning, not realizing that it is at best just pop science jargon, short hand to refer to a pretty well defined and precise concept, that is difficult to summarize without losing specificity.
There are many, many other examples of this kind of thing happening with other phrases or terms used to refer to complex concepts.
If those asteroids are on the L1-5 points, they do not count. Since they will stay at that orbit forever.
(pragmatically speaking)
Jupiter has a permanent cloud of asteroids that follow it and neptune crosses the orbit of pluto so neither of those have cleared their orbits so of course they made exceptions so that their contrived definition fits.
Do you mean the asteroids at the Lagrangian points? Every single planet has asteroids there because math/physics dictates those points to be stable. Jupiter has the most at its points because it's the largest planet.
Same with Neptune cleaning its orbit: It has collided with every single thing in its orbit EXCEPT those that synced their orbits to Neptune. An object that is gravitationally dominated by a single planet should not be a planet under any definition.
Sources because I had to read into your claims and I'm no astrophysicist:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_point
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonant_trans-Neptunian_object
Jupiter's Trojan asteroids sit at Lagrange points. Material found there is not counted in the 'clearing the orbit' criteria. They are in stable orbits caused by the mass of the planet in question, not in lieu of a massive enough body.
Unless you are Pluto.
Wasn't it more bc it doesn't clear it's surroundings?
And it has an orbit at a different angle than the 8 Planets and at it’s narrowest the ellipse of Plutos orbit is actually closer to the Sun than ~~Uranus~~ Neptune.
Edit: That moment when you‘re so done, you fuck up the order of our planets…
Do you mean Neptune? Pluto's perihelion is 29.7 AU while Uranus' aphelion is 20.1 AU.
Oh yea, sorry. I was tired, exhausted n stoned n fucked up the correct order of our planets
That's what I tell my wife but she won't listen
Come on guys, laugh
We’re laughing with your wife.
What have I done
Oh honey it’s ok