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Isn't the criteria for planethood having sufficient mass to be largely spherical? I thought the moon was oblong due to tidal locking with the Earth. I realize
by redthrowaway 15y ago
Isn't the criteria for planethood having sufficient mass to be largely spherical? I thought the moon was oblong due to tidal locking with the Earth. I realize that the Earth isn't a sphere, but in that case it's due to the centripetal force of its rotation on its own mass, which I think gives it a pass.
- waitwhat 15y agoBeing "largely spherical" is (post-Pluto furore) a necessary but not sufficient condition for being deemed a planet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_planet
- tzs 15y agoThe Moon is closer to spherical than the Earth is. The Moon's flattening is something like 0.001, as opposed to 0.003 for Earth.