Jordanian Astronomical Society: New digital standards for planet identification

Weather of Arabia - Dr. said. Ammar Al-Sakkji, President of the Jordanian Astronomical Society, said that in a research study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Planetary Sciences on July 17, 2024, which is issued by the American Astronomical Society, which raised several questions about the definition currently used for the planet, and whether there is a more accurate definition in the future, and the study put forward a new proposal. For a numerical or quantitative definition of the planet, and this may amend the classic definition adopted by the International Astronomical Union in Resolution B5 in 2006, which downgraded Pluto from “planet” to “dwarf planet,” and the classification of Pluto as a planet may be re-examined according to other criteria.

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Descriptive definition of planet

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union adopted a descriptive definition of a planet, as it is a celestial body that revolves around a star, and has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome the mechanical forces of a solid or rigid body, so that it takes the form of hydrostatic equilibrium (spherical shape), and it has the ability to clean or purify the area surrounding its orbit. This means that there are no other large bodies in the vicinity of its orbit except its moons, that is, it has the ability to attract objects in its orbit with the exception of small rocks that have no gravitational effect, and this last (third criterion) is the reason that led to the downgrading of Pluto from planet to dwarf planet. Because of the third criterion, that is, Pluto's gravity does not have the ability to attract large objects close to its orbit despite its existence for billions of years, as the mass of Pluto is 0.07 times the mass of other objects located near its orbit, and in comparison, the mass of the Earth is equal to 1.7 million times the mass of Other objects located near its orbit.

The scientific research proposed a development of the classic definition of the International Astronomical Union, which is a descriptive and non-mathematical definition, using mathematical models and a series of mathematical equations to determine the gravitational capacity to clear large bodies in its orbit in a specific period of time to ascertain the approximate size that the planet needs to clear and clear the area surrounding its orbit, and this Includes planets inside or outside the solar system.

The results of the research study suggest redefining the planet in line with the definition of the International Astronomical Union, but with the addition of some modifications that suit recent discoveries to date. The research proposal is summed up in the fact that a planet is a celestial body, and revolves around one star or several stars, or around brown dwarfs, or even remnants. Stars, and its mass is greater than a thousand billion billion kilograms (10^23 kg) , and its mass is also less than 13 times the mass of Jupiter, that is, less than 25 billion billion billion kilograms (2.5 x 10^28 kg), meaning that its mass was determined mathematically and accurately between these masses, and this proposal may change The number of planets in the solar system. It is possible that the definition of the planet will be reconsidered at the 2027 meeting of the International Astronomical Union in Italy, as there are many proposals calling for updating and developing the definition. This new definition may help scientists better understand planets, exoplanets, or stellar planets in the coming years and decades.

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