Microrants: The Moon Is A Planet

the earth is not a planet.
why?
what defines a planet?
The international astronomical union's definition is

• it orbits the sun
• has sufficient mass to be round, or nearly round
• is not a satellite (moon) of another object
• has removed debris and small objects from the area around its orbit

I copied and pasted that
I'd like to argue that the Earth is not a planet because the Moon (or rather, Luna) does not orbit the earth.
ganon wrecked me on the above lol
But the moon goes around the earth, right? About once a month?
Well it does, but that's less due to the Earth's gravitation and more due to the Sun's.
If the Earth had a greater effect on the moon than the sun, the moon would be spiraling ever so slightly towards us. However, that isn't the case. The moon is spiraling away. This is because the sun is pulling it away, and the earth loses the tug of war because it doesn't affect Luna as much. The moon orbits the sun, not the earth. It only appears to.
So therefore, the earth is not a planet because it hasn't cleared most of the mass in it's orbit, because the moon shares it's orbit, only being deviated by the Earth's gravitation to appear as an orbit.

Either that, or we're living in the only binary planetary system ever recorded.

 

+1 support

 

What about all the debris humans have put in space

 

If we're really getting technical, the Earth often has more than one satellite or other space stuff orbiting it, so it would still be a planet.

 

the way that I interpret the definition (so that it makes sense) is that it refers to major debris. If you can get most of the major debris out, you've got a planet, as long as an overwhelming amount of the mass in your orbit is the planet's

 

Major debris like what? Moon-sized debris? Most planets don't have satellites that big. There are only four in our solar system. Also, large asteroids have been known to orbit earth for short periods of time; is that major enough for you?

I take issue with your "interpretation," though;

 

it'd be rediculous if there were several planet-sized objects in an orbit, no? And also, Luna is a giant if you compare it to other moons, especially according to size-relativity. Ganymede is larger than Mercury.

 

I don't doubt that there are satellites larger than the earth somewhere out there in the universe.

Point is, Earth is still a planet, even by this definition.

 

i guess you're right



which makes Luna also a planet


binary planetary system

 

You seem to have omitted

which the moon has not done.

 

the moon is in the same orbit as the earth, so if the moon has debris so does the earth

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the moon is in the same orbit as the earth, so if the moon has debris so does the earth

 

Eh? The point is that the moon is not gravitationally dominant, and the earth is of a comparable size, yet is not it's satellite.

 

Wait, using that logic, wouldn't any planet with rings technically not be a planet?

Or am i completely misinterpreting where you're coming from.

 

no, because the objects in the debris are satillitic to the planet. however, Luna isn't.

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I'm struggling to see your point.
My point is that Luna is gravitationally bound to the sun, not the earth. If the earth were to accelerate somehow and eventually escape the solar system, the moon would remain, bound by the sun's gravity (or, more likely, it would end up with an orbit skewed into the earth, causing it to shred itself). This means that Luna is not actually a satellite of earth- rather, an independent planet (or a dwarf planet if you qualify it with the "debris", making the earth also a dwarf planet)

 

That's a pretty big "If," and an unnecessary one. My point is that, according to the IAU, one of the criteria for being a planet is that it
"has "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit." The moon has not done this.

 

then the earth, in the same fucking neighborhood, hasn't done it either

now hold on a minute i need to vore some sour patch kids

 

The earth is gravitationally dominant over the moon.

 

Asteroids orbit around the sun, right?

 

the sun is gravitationally dominant over the moon. while the earth has enough gravity to fuck up it's orbit so bad, it's not the one in control. if the sun were to somehow disappear, Luna would fly the fuck away. that's like saying that Jupiter has a bit of gravitational control over the asteroid belt, so the asteroids passing through are Jovian satellites.

 

That's not what qualifies a satellite. We're talking about planets here. Jupiter having gravitational dominance over the asteroid belt wouldn't change anything, it's already got satellites and is a planet. It doesn't matter if the sun is gravitationally dominant over the moon. Two things can affect one thing simultaneously.