Small solar system bodies

What are the small bodies in the Solar System?

The small bodies in the solar system include comets, asteroids, the objects in the Kuiper Belt and the Oort cloud, small planetary satellites, Triton, Pluto, Charon, and interplanetary dust. As some of these objects are believed to be minimally altered from their state in the young solar nebula from which the planets formed, they may […]

What is a small Solar System body (SSSB)?

A small Solar System body (SSSB) is an object in the Solar System that is neither a planet, a dwarf planet, nor a natural satellite. The term was first defined in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as follows: "All other objects, except satellites, orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as 'Small Solar System Bodies ' ".

What are'small Solar System bodies'?

In the context, it should be interpreted as, "All objects other than planets and dwarf planets orbiting the Sun shall be referred to collectively as 'Small Solar System Bodies'. The definition excludes interstellar objects traveling through the Solar System, such as the interstellar interlopers 1I/ ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov.

What are small bodies?

Comets, asteroids, dwarf planets, minor planets, Plutoids, or Trans Neptunian Objects (TNOs); what ever you call them, these pint sized members of our solar system make up the class of objects known as "Small Bodies". These objects orbit the sun similar to planets but do not have enough mass to sweep out debris from their orbits.

Will small Solar System bodies be reclassified as dwarf planets?

Some of the larger small Solar System bodies may be reclassified in future as dwarf planets, pending further examination to determine whether or not they are in hydrostatic equilibrium. The orbits of the vast majority of small Solar System bodies are located in two distinct areas, namely the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt.

What are the small bodies in the solar nebula?

Essentially all the small bodies are thought to be remnant material from the planet-building process that took place during the formation of the solar system from the solar nebula. ( See solar system: Formation of the solar nebula .)