Minor planet is a term used since the 19th century to describe objects in orbit around the Sun that are not major planets or comets. In Physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star The Sun is a Tabloid daily newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland with the highest circulation of any daily English-language A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is A comet is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and when close enough to the Sun exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere or a tail — ^[1] The term planetoid has also been used. ^[2] Historically, the terms asteroid, minor planet, and planetoid have been synonymous,^[3][2] but the issue has been complicated by the discovery of numerous small objects beyond the orbit of Jupiter, which may or may not be classified as asteroids. ^[3] Before 2006, the International Astronomical Union had officially used the term minor planet, but during its 2006 meeting, it reclassified minor planets and comets into dwarf planets and small solar system bodies. A comet is a small Solar System body that orbits the Sun and when close enough to the Sun exhibits a visible coma (atmosphere or a tail — ^[4] Minor planets may now be classified as dwarf planets if their self-gravity is sufficient to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium, that is, an approximately round shape. A dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a Celestial body Orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be rounded Hydrostatic equilibrium occurs when compression due to Gravity is balanced by a Pressure gradient which creates a Pressure gradient force in the opposite All objects orbiting the Sun other than the major planets and dwarf planets are to be officially called small solar system bodies^[4] (the IAU states: "the term 'minor planet' may still be used, but generally the term 'small solar system body' will be preferred. A planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU is a celestial body Orbiting a Star or stellar remnant that is Small Solar System Body ( SSSB) is a term defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union to describe objects in the Solar System that "^[5]).

In our solar system Mimas is the smallest body that seems to be in hydrostatic equilibrium, while Pallas may be the largest notably out of round. TemplateInfobox Planet. --> Mimas (ˈmaɪməs, or as Greek TemplateInfobox Planet. --> 2 Pallas (ˈpæləs, or as Παλλάς) is one of the largest The IAU has so far declared only three bodies to be dwarf planets: Ceres, Pluto, and Eris. Ceres (ˈsɪəriːz

Classifications of minor planets according to a descriptive system are:

• Asteroids; traditionally, most have been bodies in the inner solar system. Asteroids, sometimes called Minor planets or planetoids', are bodies—primarily of the inner Solar System —that are smaller than planets but ^[3]

• Main belt asteroids, those following roughly circular orbits between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the Planets Mars and Jupiter. These are the original, largest, and best known group of asteroids or minor planets.
• Near earth asteroids, those inside the orbit of Mars. Near-Earth objects ( NEOs) are Asteroids Comets and large Meteoroids whose orbits bring them close ( Perihelion distance AU Further subclassification of these, based on orbital distance, is traditional.
• Trojan asteroids, those in Jupiter's orbit and gravitationally locked to it.

• Centaurs, bodies in the outer solar system. These have unstable orbits because of the huge influence of the giant planets' gravity.
• Trans-Neptunian objects, bodies out beyond Neptune, the outermost major planet. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO is any object in the Solar system that Orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune.

• The Kuiper belt, objects outside the orbit of Neptune and within roughly 55 AU of the Sun. The Kuiper belt (ˈkaɪpɚ to rhyme with "viper" sometimes called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, is a region of the Solar System beyond the planets extending Neptune ( English|AmE] ] is the eighth and farthest Planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The astronomical unit ( AU or au or au or sometimes ua) is a unit of Length based on the distance from the Earth to the

• Classical Kuiper belt objects, those in primordial near-circular orbits beyond Neptune; these appear to all be inside its 1:2 resonance. In astronomy a classical Kuiper Belt object, also called a cubewano (ˌkjuːbiːˈwɑːnoʊ is a Kuiper belt object that Orbits beyond Neptune
• Plutinos, bodies in the 2:3 resonance, like Pluto. In Astronomy, a plutino is a Trans-Neptunian object in 23 mean motion resonance with Neptune. This is a rather large group

• Scattered Disk objects, those having aphelia farther than the Kuiper belt objects. The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of the Solar System that is sparsely populated by icy Minor planets known as scattered These are thought to have been scattered by Neptune, though some having very large perihelia such as Sedna may be primordial. TemplateInfobox Planet.--> 90377 Sedna (ˈsɛdnə) is a Trans-Neptunian

See also

• Solar System
• Asteroid group
• Small Solar System body

References

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