Dwarf planet

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A planetary (world-like) body of the Solar system, that directly orbits the Sun like the classical planets but does not gravitationally dominate other bodies in the region of its orbit.

    "A member of the Fomor Belt, Bres is a dwarf planet with no atmosphere."

Etymology

Coined by analogy with dwarf star, as part of a tripartite classification of planets: classical planets (the big 8 in the Sol system), satellite planets (planetary-mass moons) and dwarf planets. Redefined by the IAU in 2006 to be a category of sub-planetary objects.

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