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The quick layman's answer is 'gravity'. Imagine an object with the same over-all density and mass as the earth, only it is in the shape of a solid cylinder 100 miles in diameter. It would be (for just a brief moment) like a wire stretched out over a very long distance. It could never maintain such a shape; the object would still have gravity, and the ends would quickly and catastrophically collapse toward the center. This would be quite a thing to witness. By the time all the crashing and exploding comes to an end, the mass would be roughly spherical. This is just to visually illustrate the idea of gravity pulling the mass into a spherical shape; in fact some of the impacts may be so great that some of the material might be propelled at such a velocity that it would never return.

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What are inner planet shapes?

The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) in our solar system are all roughly spherical in shape due to their gravity compressing their material into a spherical form. They lack the mass to maintain a more irregular shape like some larger moons or asteroids.


What shape are sun earth and other planets?

The sun is a sphere, while planets are generally spherical in shape due to gravity pulling their mass evenly in all directions. Some planets have slight deviations from a perfect sphere due to rotation or geological activity, but they are still predominantly spherical in shape.


What is a spherical body thet orbits the sun?

A spherical body that orbits the Sun is known as a planet. Planets are large celestial objects that have cleared their orbits of other debris and are held in place by the Sun's gravitational pull. Examples include Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. Additionally, there are dwarf planets, like Pluto, which also have a spherical shape but do not meet all criteria to be classified as full-fledged planets.


What is the shape of the outer planets?

Planets don't revolve around the Earth.Planets revolve around the Sun in ellipses.


What causes the earth and other planets to have more or less spherical shape?

The force of gravity pulls objects toward their center, causing them to form a spherical shape over time. Planets and other large celestial bodies are able to overcome any irregularities and form into spheres due to gravity's influence on their mass and density.

Related Questions

What shape are planet?

The inner planets have a spherical shape. In fact all planets are more or less spherical.


Which planets has more of a spherical shape?

There are two planets with an almost perfectly spherical shape. They are Mercury and Venus.


What is the typiccall shape of the planets?

Planets are all spherical.


Are planets different shapes?

No. All planets are spherical.


What are planets and stars?

Spherical


What shape are planets and stars?

Spherical


Are gassy planets really planets?

Yes! As long as it is massive enough to form a spherical shape with it's own gravity, and not so massive that it becomes a star, and revolves around a star itself, it is considered a planet.


Why are your planets spherical?

due to own gravitational force


What are inner planet shapes?

The inner planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars) in our solar system are all roughly spherical in shape due to their gravity compressing their material into a spherical form. They lack the mass to maintain a more irregular shape like some larger moons or asteroids.


What is the shape of dense body is the size of planets or larger?

Approximately "spherical".


What shape are sun earth and other planets?

The sun is a sphere, while planets are generally spherical in shape due to gravity pulling their mass evenly in all directions. Some planets have slight deviations from a perfect sphere due to rotation or geological activity, but they are still predominantly spherical in shape.


Are the sun and planets round?

Yes!!!! The correct term is "spherical", which means round in all dimensions like a ball. (A hoop is round, but is not spherical) Stars and planets are not perfect spheres, but they are very close to perfect spheres.