why should we define objects past mars as planets if they have no formal surface?
11 Answers
- aladdinwaLv 79 months agoBest answer
Because having a solid, crustal surface is not one of the three criteria for an object being a planet.
- Ronald 7Lv 79 months ago
They all have Solid Cores
And they are bigger than us
So I would keep that to yourself
- nineteenthlyLv 79 months ago
Because there's a sense in which that's also true of Venus, and in other star systems of hot Jupiters.
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- EricLv 49 months ago
They just bestow names on things they claim exist billions of miles away. It's how they justify the billions of dollars they squander that would be better dedicated to schools and hospitals and communities and real science. Not pseudoscience.
- Jeffrey KLv 69 months ago
They meet the definition of planets. A planet doesn't have to have a solid surface. If it orbits the sun, dominates the region of its orbit, and it big enough for gravity to make it round, it is a planet.
- thomas fLv 79 months ago
According to the Ancients, planets are "wanderers". If they wander, then they're a planet. Sounds simple to me.
- CarolOklaNolaLv 79 months ago
Because they DO hsve a surface underneath all that atmosphere is why.
Planets chemically differentiate with iron and nickel forming the cores of ALL the planets. That is WHY they have global magnetic fields stronger than Earth's magnetic field..
Source(s): B.S. geology, M.S. ABT geophysics, B.S. physical geography, M.S. geology - 9 months ago
Because having a 'formal surface' isn't part of the 3 criteria that define a planet.
The gas giants have a defined surface. They don't have a true surface. The atmosphere becomes more liquid like grading into solid like.