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I suppose the question is whether "dwarf" is a modifier to "planet" or whether "dwarf planet" is a compound word that cannot be split without losing meaning. I

I suppose the question is whether "dwarf" is a modifier to "planet" or whether "dwarf planet" is a compound word that cannot be split without losing meaning. I would lean toward the former -- if there was not room in the headline for "Dwarf planet Ceres", referring to it as "Planet Ceres" still adds information and clarifies helpfully. "Ceres" may not be familiar enough to most readers for them to instantly think, "Oh, they must be talking about the largest asteroid/eighth largest known dwarf planet", but adding "planet" makes it clear that we're talking about space stuff.

linuxftw 6y ago
Indeed, 'a dwarf something' is 'a something,' such as a 'dwarf star' or a 'dwarf tree.'
nix23 6y ago
No, dwarf planet is a classification and NOT a modifier: https://solarstory.net/planets/ https://solarstory.net/planets/ EDIT: (Ceres) It is now considered as a "dwarf" planet, but is still labeled as an asteroid
- alehul 6y ago
  Just an FYI, your link uses dwarf planet as a modifier. From the Dwarf Planets section: "These planets are Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake." (Not commenting on whether this is correct in this comment, just what the link says).
  - nix23 6y ago
    Ha! You got them :)
alehul 6y ago
Here's a Euler diagram on planets, dwarf planets, minor planets, so on and so forth from Wikipedia [1]. Alan Stern, who coined the term "dwarf planet," initially wanted it to be under the umbrella of planet as a distinct subtype. [2] The International Astronomical Union (IAU), however, believed that what we call a dwarf planet — it was referred to as a planetoid — should not be considered a type of planet. The IAU later held a session where they decided to use the term dwarf planets in place of planetoids, however they decided that a dwarf planet is not a type of planet. It's semantically inconsistent, but that's where we stand right now per the IAU. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Euler_diagram_of_solar_system_bodies.svg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Euler_di... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet
- deleted 6y ago
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linuxftw 6y ago

Indeed, 'a dwarf something' is 'a something,' such as a 'dwarf star' or a 'dwarf tree.'

nix23 6y ago

No, dwarf planet is a classification and NOT a modifier: https://solarstory.net/planets/ https://solarstory.net/planets/ EDIT: (Ceres) It is now considered as a "dwarf" planet, but is still labeled as an asteroid

alehul 6y ago
Just an FYI, your link uses dwarf planet as a modifier. From the Dwarf Planets section: "These planets are Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake." (Not commenting on whether this is correct in this comment, just what the link says).
- nix23 6y ago
  Ha! You got them :)

alehul 6y ago

Here's a Euler diagram on planets, dwarf planets, minor planets, so on and so forth from Wikipedia [1]. Alan Stern, who coined the term "dwarf planet," initially wanted it to be under the umbrella of planet as a distinct subtype. [2] The International Astronomical Union (IAU), however, believed that what we call a dwarf planet — it was referred to as a planetoid — should not be considered a type of planet. The IAU later held a session where they decided to use the term dwarf planets in place of planetoids, however they decided that a dwarf planet is not a type of planet. It's semantically inconsistent, but that's where we stand right now per the IAU. [1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Euler_diagram_of_solar_system_bodies.svg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Euler_di... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet

deleted 6y ago
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