What makes a planet a moon?
“As far as I’m concerned, a moon is something that orbits a planet or dwarf planet.” Regular moons are thought to have formed from the same material and around the same time and place as their planet or to have been carved out of the planet by a massive collision, as is suspected of Earth’s moon.
Why is moon not considered as a planet?
Like the Earth, our moon has a crust, a mantle and a core. These interior layers we think are present on most planets, even if the crust is made of rock or ice. Mars probably has a crust, mantle, and core, and so do Venus and Mercury. So when the moon formed, it formed like a planet.
Why isn’t the sun considered a planet?
The sun and moon are not planets when you consider the objects in space they orbit. For the sun to be a planet, it would have to orbit another sun. Although the sun is in a orbit, it moves around the center of mass of the Milky Way galaxy, not another star. The Earth’s moon is also not a planet because it orbits one.
Is the moon a planet justify your answer?
The answer right now is “yes”. But over time, that barycenter will move outside of Earth. That’s because the Moon is slowly receding from our planet at a rate of about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) a year. So for now, the Earth is a planet and the Moon a satellite — at least under IAU rules.
