Why is Jupiter a planet?

Jupiter - The giant planet

This documentary claims that Jupiter is nothing but gas. 86 percent hydrogen, 14 percent helium.

Just because these gases are concentrated in one spot, why does it qualify as a planet instead of a gas bubble?

I might've known this thread was yours haha. Jupiter, like other planets, orbits the sun. That's my answer. I don't know if that's correct or not. This gas bubble is in orbit.

But wait! Why isn't Pluto a planet again?

I'll theorize an answer for you.

It has an orbit around the sun.
It has moons.
It has weather.

and no one actually knows what is at the creamy nuget core of Jupiter.

reply to post by jiggerj


I'm fairly sure there's been speculation that Jupiter and Saturn are failed Brown Dwarf stars.

I'm not sure if that speculation has come to rest or not, but, Brown Dwarfs or no, they orbit the Sun like other planets, so, as our understanding of the solar system was what it was in the early days, if it orbited the sun, it was a planet.

Thus so.

Well it fits the definition of a planet. It's

The definition of planet set in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that, in the Solar System, a planet is a celestial body which:

* is in orbit around the Sun,
* has sufficient mass to assume hydrostatic equilibrium (a nearly round shape), and
* has "cleared the neighbourhood" around its orbit.

There is nothing that states a planet must be solid. And it certainly has in abundance the stuff required to 'be' a planet.

Had Jupiter been larger it would have been a contender for a Star, given it's composition.

And in a quirk of circumstance, the actual wording for the criteria of a planet is a "Celestial body that orbits the Sun" -- which by definition excludes the Earth... But we all know the Earth is a planet.

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
I might've known this thread was yours haha. Jupiter, like other planets, orbits the sun. That's my answer. I don't know if that's correct or not. This gas bubble is in orbit.

But wait! Why isn't Pluto a planet again?

edit on 12-9-2012 by NarcolepticBuddha because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-9-2012 by NarcolepticBuddha because: (no reason given)

Exactly! If orbiting the sun is what defined a planet, then everything in the Kuiper belt would be a planet.

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
I might've known this thread was yours haha. Jupiter, like other planets, orbits the sun. That's my answer. I don't know if that's correct or not. This gas bubble is in orbit.

But wait! Why isn't Pluto a planet again?

edit on 12-9-2012 by NarcolepticBuddha because: (no reason given)

edit on 12-9-2012 by NarcolepticBuddha because: (no reason given)

Pluto doesn't have the gravity to clear it's orbit of debris. It therefore doesn't meet all the criteria, but instead falls into a Dwarf Planet category.

Originally posted by Druscilla
reply to post by jiggerj

 

I'm fairly sure there's been speculation that Jupiter and Saturn are failed Brown Dwarf stars.

I'm not sure if that speculation has come to rest or not, but, Brown Dwarfs or no, they orbit the Sun like other planets, so, as our understanding of the solar system was what it was in the early days, if it orbited the sun, it was a planet.

Thus so.

Don't forget Pluto.

Originally posted by winofiend


And in a quirk of circumstance, the actual wording for the criteria of a planet is a "Celestial body that orbits the Sun" -- which by definition excludes the Earth... But we all know the Earth is a planet.

Huh?

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by winofiend


And in a quirk of circumstance, the actual wording for the criteria of a planet is a "Celestial body that orbits the Sun" -- which by definition excludes the Earth... But we all know the Earth is a planet.

Huh?

Huh?

I'll have a jab at what you're asking..

If someone asked you what planet are we closest to right now? Would you say the Earth? Or.. ponder it for a reasonable answer using our closest planets?

The same goes for a Celestial Body. It's defined as "any natural body outside of the Earth's atmosphere" -- excluding the Earth from the IAU definition.. An oversight.

reply to post by winofiend


So, basically you're just needlessly splitting hairs? I don't have a second line here. Deal with it, folks.

Originally posted by winofiend

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by winofiend


And in a quirk of circumstance, the actual wording for the criteria of a planet is a "Celestial body that orbits the Sun" -- which by definition excludes the Earth... But we all know the Earth is a planet.

Huh?

Huh?

I'll have a jab at what you're asking..

If someone asked you what planet are we closest to right now? Would you say the Earth? Or.. ponder it for a reasonable answer using our closest planets?

The same goes for a Celestial Body. It's defined as "any natural body outside of the Earth's atmosphere" -- excluding the Earth from the IAU definition.. An oversight.

This sounds like a loophole is space law. Those damn lawyers are everywhere!

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
reply to post by winofiend

 

So, basically you're just needlessly splitting hairs? I don't have a second line here. Deal with it, folks.

Hey, I love trivia.

reply to post by jiggerj

As far as Classifications....They have broken our Solar System down to 8 Planets with Pluto becoming part of the Kupier Belt or Ort Cloud Planetoids.

Jupiter is so Massive that if it were to be a bit more massive it might have the ability to become a Star. A Star after all is a large enough amount of gas...mostly Hydrogen that by it's own Gravity Well is capable of creating enough pressure to start a Fusion Reaction. This being Hydrogen being Fused into Helium and a immense Thermonuclear Reaction that becomes a Star.

There are so many Moons around certain Planets and there are Planetoids in the Kupier Belt and Ort Cloud that are larger than Mercury that it is just a matter of Classification.

Split Infinity

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
reply to post by winofiend

 

So, basically you're just needlessly splitting hairs? I don't have a second line here. Deal with it, folks.

Did you not notice that I mentioned that as a little piece of TRIVIA and not actually anything to do with the OP?

He asked.. or I assumed he asked when he quoted that part and said "Huh?" -- so I elaborated.

I guess Jupiter is a gas bubble and Pluto is a planet when all we want to do is guess about things rather than learn.

Oh well, I tried.

Fair enough it may orbit, have weather etc but that dont stop me from not agreeing with it being a planet.

If it has land mass then great

Originally posted by SplitInfinity
reply to post by jiggerj

 

As far as Classifications....They have broken our Solar System down to 8 Planets with Pluto becoming part of the Kupier Belt or Ort Cloud Planetoids.

Jupiter is so Massive that if it were to be a bit more massive it might have the ability to become a Star. A Star after all is a large enough amount of gas...mostly Hydrogen that by it's own Gravity Well is capable of creating enough pressure to start a Fusion Reaction. This being Hydrogen being Fused into Helium and a immense Thermonuclear Reaction that becomes a Star.

There are so many Moons around certain Planets and there are Planetoids in the Kupier Belt and Ort Cloud that are larger than Mercury that it is just a matter of Classification.

Split Infinity

It would need a bit more that a bit more massive, it would need to be about 80% larger, so basically 2 Jupiters slammed together, its fair off being a star of any kind.

Some Trivia for ya, did you know Jupiter emits more heat than it gets from the sun, cool huh

reply to post by felixjames20

You are right. Did you know that Saturn is so Light that it could FLOAT on the Surface of one of Earths Oceans?
Split Infinity

Originally posted by SplitInfinity
reply to post by felixjames20

 

You are right. Did you know that Saturn is so Light that it could FLOAT on the Surface of one of Earths Oceans?
Split Infinity

Nope i didnt know that, and how awesome would that be to see Saturn floating in the sea, would be epic

Thanks for this thread, without it we wouldn't have these pieces of trivia, which taught me more about the planets discussed than I ever learned in school. Meh, Texas public education, what can ya do? LOL Now off to search for the answer of "why" to these alledged facts.