Planemo

//ˈplæ.nə.moʊ// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    an astronomical object with enough mass to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium, but not enough to initiate core fusion at any time in its existence. That is, it is rounded in shape and is smaller than a star. Planemos include planets, dwarf planets, and the larger moons of the Solar System (satellite planets), but also sub-brown dwarfs and rogue planets between the stars.

    "Other groups have also recently identified young, isolated planemos; understanding how such isolated, ultra-low masses form presents a challenge."

Synonyms

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Example

More examples

"Other groups have also recently identified young, isolated planemos; understanding how such isolated, ultra-low masses form presents a challenge."

Etymology

Contraction of planetary-mass object. Coined by Gibor Basri, Professor of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, (UCB) at the 2003 IAU conference.

Related phrases

dwarf planethydrostatic equilibriumrogue planetsatellite planetsub brown dwarf

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.