Conditions for a Body to Qualify as a Planet
- It must orbit the Sun
- The body must revolve or move around the Sun, not around another planet or star.
- It must have enough mass to be nearly round in shape
- The gravity of the body should be strong enough to pull it into a round or nearly round shape.
- It must have cleared its orbit
- The planet should be the dominant object in its orbit, meaning it has cleared away other smaller objects or debris around its path.
Simple summary for students:
A planet goes around the Sun, is round because of its own gravity, and doesn’t share its path with many other objects.