this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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xkcd #3063: Planet Definitions (xkcd.com)
submitted 4 days ago by [email protected] to c/xkcd
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Under the 'has cleared its orbital neighborhood' and 'fuses hydrogen into helium' definitions, thanks to human activities Earth technically no longer qualifies as a planet but DOES count as a star.

https://explainxkcd.com/3063/

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (2 children)

what is the name for things in orbits that aren't asteroids ?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Satellite.

Can also be broken down to natural and artificial satellites, but natural has extra requirements than just being naturally occurring.

[–] GladiusB 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Debris?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

I mean including things like planets, an umbrella term that planets are always on

it doesn't sound to me like you could just say a planet is debris although I do think the formation of the moon could technically be space debris so maybe other larger celestial objects may have originated as such

I'm a computer person. not a space or physics person so forgive my lack of correct terminology