Quote:
Originally Posted by stephend
...IAU's definition is that a planet must clear the space around its orbit. I don't think this is a very clever definition coz how do you define "clear"?
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Precisely. By their definition, Jupiter isn't a planet. It most certainly hasn't cleared its orbit of debris.....how, then, do they explain the trojan asteroids in its orbit??. Nor has Mars, or Earth. So, where do we start??
This was originally a rushed decision, made by a small number of astronomers at the IAU conference after most of the delegates went home.
It should be changed.