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1) It must orbit the sun directly, and not another solar system body. (This lets out Ganymede, for example, which orbits Jupiter.)

2) It must have sufficient mass to have reached hydrostatic equilibrium: a near-round shape. (This removes most asteroids, which are too small for gravity to have rounded them off.)

3) It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit. (This eliminates Ceres, because it hasn't cleared its neighborhood of other asteroids; and Pluto, because it's locked into a resonance orbit with the much-larger Neptune.)

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Rubye Mante

Lvl 13
2y ago

What else can I help you with?