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The number of dwarf planets in the Solar System is unknown. Estimates have run as high as 200 in the Kuiper belt and over 10,000 in the region beyond. However, consideration of the surprisingly low densities of many large trans-Neptunian objects, as well as spectroscopic analysis of their surfaces, suggests that the number of dwarf planets may be much lower, perhaps only nine among bodies ...
Indeed, the draft of Resolution 5A had called these median bodies planetoids, but the plenary session voted unanimously to change the name to dwarf planet. The second resolution, 5B, defined dwarf planets as a subtype of planet, as Stern had originally intended, distinguished from the other eight that were to be called "classical planets".
The largest known trans-Neptunian objects are Pluto and Eris, followed by Haumea and Makemake, all of them being officially recognized as dwarf planets by the IAU. There are also several dwarf planet candidates such as Gonggong, Quaoar, Sedna, and Orcus. Most TNOs have low albedos typically around 0.09.
Relative masses of the Solar planets. Jupiter at 71% of the total and Saturn at 21% dominate the system. Relative masses of the solid bodies of the Solar System. Earth at 48% and Venus at 39% dominate. Bodies less massive than Pluto are not visible at this scale. Relative masses of the rounded moons of the Solar System.
The following is a list of minor planets with the largest aphelion in descending order. Minor planets with a heliocentric aphelion greater than 400 AU. The following group of bodies have orbits with an aphelion above 400 AU, with 1-sigma uncertainties given to two significant digits. As of May 2024, there are 73 such bodies.
e. In astrodynamics, the orbital eccentricity of an astronomical object is a dimensionless parameter that determines the amount by which its orbit around another body deviates from a perfect circle. A value of 0 is a circular orbit, values between 0 and 1 form an elliptic orbit, 1 is a parabolic escape orbit (or capture orbit), and greater than ...
It is the smallest planet in the Solar System, with an equatorial radius of 2,439.7 kilometres (1,516.0 mi). Mercury is also smaller—albeit more massive—than the largest natural satellites in the Solar System, Ganymede and Titan. Mercury consists of approximately 70% metallic and 30% silicate material. Internal structure
The discovery of the low-density Earth-mass planet Kepler-138d shows that there is an overlapping range of masses in which both rocky planets and low-density planets occur. A low-mass low-density planets could be an ocean planet or super-Earth with a remnant hydrogen atmosphere, or a hot planet with a steam atmosphere, or a mini-Neptune with a ...