Planetary-mass object

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The planetary-mass moons to scale, compared with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Pluto (the other planetary-mass objects beyond Neptune have never been imaged up close). Borderline Proteus and Nereid (about the same size as round Mimas) have been included. Unimaged Dysnomia (intermediate in size between Tethys and Enceladus) is not shown; it is in any case probably not a solid body. 25 solar system objects smaller than Earth.jpg
The planetary-mass moons to scale, compared with Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Pluto (the other planetary-mass objects beyond Neptune have never been imaged up close). Borderline Proteus and Nereid (about the same size as round Mimas) have been included. Unimaged Dysnomia (intermediate in size between Tethys and Enceladus) is not shown; it is in any case probably not a solid body.

A planetary-mass object (PMO), planemo, [2] or planetary body (sometimes referred to as a world) is, by geophysical definition of celestial objects, any celestial object massive enough to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium, but not enough to sustain core fusion like a star. [3] [4]

Contents

The purpose of this term is to classify together a broader range of celestial objects than 'planet', since many objects similar in geophysical terms do not conform to conventional expectations for a planet. Planetary-mass objects can be quite diverse in origin and location. They include planets, dwarf planets, planetary-mass satellites and free-floating planets, which may have been ejected from a system (rogue planets) or formed through cloud-collapse rather than accretion (sub-brown dwarfs).

Usage in astronomy

While the term technically includes exoplanets and other objects, it is often used for objects with an uncertain nature or objects that do not fit in one specific class. Cases in which the term is often used:

Types

Planetary-mass satellite

Planetary-mass satellites larger than Pluto, the largest Solar dwarf planet. Large Moons (4089199369).jpg
Planetary-mass satellites larger than Pluto, the largest Solar dwarf planet.

The three largest satellites Ganymede, Titan, and Callisto are of similar size or larger than the planet Mercury; these and four more – Io, the Moon, Europa, and Triton – are larger and more massive than the largest and most massive dwarf planets, Pluto and Eris. Another dozen smaller satellites are large enough to have become round at some point in their history through their own gravity, tidal heating from their parent planets, or both. In particular, Titan has a thick atmosphere and stable bodies of liquid on its surface, like Earth (though for Titan the liquid is methane rather than water). Proponents of the geophysical definition of planets argue that location should not matter and that only geophysical attributes should be taken into account in the definition of a planet. The term satellite planet is sometimes used for planet-sized satellites. [11]

Dwarf planets

The dwarf planet Pluto Pluto in True Color - High-Res.jpg
The dwarf planet Pluto

A dwarf planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a true planet nor a natural satellite; it is in direct orbit of a star, and is massive enough for its gravity to compress it into a hydrostatically equilibrious shape (usually a spheroid), but has not cleared the neighborhood of other material around its orbit. Planetary scientist and New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern, who proposed the term 'dwarf planet', has argued that location should not matter and that only geophysical attributes should be taken into account, and that dwarf planets are thus a subtype of planet. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) accepted the term (rather than the more neutral 'planetoid') but decided to classify dwarf planets as a separate category of object. [12]

Planets and exoplanets

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Planet.[ edit ]
A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. [13] The Solar System has eight planets by the most restrictive definition of the term: the terrestrial planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young protostar orbited by a protoplanetary disk. Planets grow in this disk by the gradual accumulation of material driven by gravity, a process called accretion.

Former stars

In close binary star systems, one of the stars can lose mass to a heavier companion. Accretion-powered pulsars may drive mass loss. The shrinking star can then become a planetary-mass object. An example is a Jupiter-mass object orbiting the pulsar PSR J1719−1438. [14] These shrunken white dwarfs may become a helium planet or carbon planet.

Sub-brown dwarfs

Artist's impression of a super-Jupiter around the brown dwarf 2M1207. Artist's View of a Super-Jupiter around a Brown Dwarf (2M1207).jpg
Artist's impression of a super-Jupiter around the brown dwarf 2M1207.

Stars form via the gravitational collapse of gas clouds, but smaller objects can also form via cloud collapse. Planetary-mass objects formed this way are sometimes called sub-brown dwarfs. Sub-brown dwarfs may be free-floating such as Cha 110913−773444 [16] and OTS 44, [17] or orbiting a larger object such as 2MASS J04414489+2301513.

Binary systems of sub-brown dwarfs are theoretically possible; Oph 162225-240515 was initially thought to be a binary system of a brown dwarf of 14 Jupiter masses and a sub-brown dwarf of 7 Jupiter masses, but further observations revised the estimated masses upwards to greater than 13 Jupiter masses, making them brown dwarfs according to the IAU working definitions. [18] [19] [20]

Captured planets

Rogue planets in stellar clusters have similar velocities to the stars and so can be recaptured. They are typically captured into wide orbits between 100 and 105 AU. The capture efficiency decreases with increasing cluster volume, and for a given cluster size it increases with the host/primary mass. It is almost independent of the planetary mass. Single and multiple planets could be captured into arbitrary unaligned orbits, non-coplanar with each other or with the stellar host spin, or pre-existing planetary system. [21]

Rogue planets

Several computer simulations of stellar and planetary system formation have suggested that some objects of planetary mass would be ejected into interstellar space. [22] Such objects are typically called rogue planets.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown dwarf</span> Type of substellar object larger than a planet

Brown dwarfs are substellar objects that have more mass than the biggest gas giant planets, but less than the least massive main-sequence stars. Their mass is approximately 3 to 80 times that of Jupiter (MJ)—not big enough to sustain nuclear fusion of ordinary hydrogen (1H) into helium in their cores, but massive enough to emit some light and heat from the fusion of deuterium (2H). The most massive ones can fuse lithium (7Li).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nebular hypothesis</span> Astronomical theory about the Solar System

The nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System. It suggests the Solar System is formed from gas and dust orbiting the Sun which clumped up together to form the planets. The theory was developed by Immanuel Kant and published in his Universal Natural History and Theory of the Heavens (1755) and then modified in 1796 by Pierre Laplace. Originally applied to the Solar System, the process of planetary system formation is now thought to be at work throughout the universe. The widely accepted modern variant of the nebular theory is the solar nebular disk model (SNDM) or solar nebular model. It offered explanations for a variety of properties of the Solar System, including the nearly circular and coplanar orbits of the planets, and their motion in the same direction as the Sun's rotation. Some elements of the original nebular theory are echoed in modern theories of planetary formation, but most elements have been superseded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogue planet</span> Planets not gravitationally bound to a star

A rogue planet, also termed a free-floating planet (FFP) or an isolated planetary-mass object (iPMO), is an interstellar object of planetary mass which is not gravitationally bound to any star or brown dwarf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2M1207</span> Brown dwarf in the constellation Centaurus

2M1207, 2M1207A or 2MASS J12073346–3932539 is a brown dwarf located in the constellation Centaurus; a companion object, 2M1207b, may be the first extrasolar planetary-mass companion to be directly imaged, and is the first discovered orbiting a brown dwarf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GQ Lupi b</span> Exoplanet candidate orbiting GQ Lupi. Either a brown dwarf or exoplanet.

GQ Lupi b, or GQ Lupi B, is a possible extrasolar planet, brown dwarf or sub-brown dwarf orbiting the star GQ Lupi. Its discovery was announced in April 2005, less than a month before the full confirmation of 2M1207b was announced. Along with 2M1207b, this was one of the first extrasolar planet candidates to be directly imaged. The image was made with the European Southern Observatory's VLT telescope at the Paranal Observatory, Chile on June 25, 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2M1207b</span> Planetary-mass object orbiting the brown dwarf 2M1207

2M1207b is a planetary-mass object orbiting the brown dwarf 2M1207, in the constellation Centaurus, approximately 170 light-years from Earth. It is one of the first candidate exoplanets to be directly observed. It was discovered in April 2004 by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile by a team from the European Southern Observatory led by Gaël Chauvin. It is believed to be from 5 to 6 times the mass of Jupiter and may orbit 2M1207 at a distance roughly as far from the brown dwarf as Pluto is from the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exomoon</span> Moon beyond the Solar System

An exomoon or extrasolar moon is a natural satellite that orbits an exoplanet or other non-stellar extrasolar body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OTS 44</span> Celestial object in the constellation Chamaeleon

OTS 44 is a free-floating planetary-mass object or brown dwarf located at 530 light-years (160 pc) in the constellation Chamaeleon near the reflection nebula IC 2631. It is among the lowest-mass free-floating substellar objects, with approximately 11.5 times the mass of Jupiter, or approximately 1.1% that of the Sun. Its radius is estimated to be 3.2 or 3.6 times that of Jupiter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sub-brown dwarf</span> Astronomical objects of planetary size that did not form in orbit around a star

A sub-brown dwarf or planetary-mass brown dwarf is an astronomical object that formed in the same manner as stars and brown dwarfs but that has a planetary mass, therefore by definition below the limiting mass for thermonuclear fusion of deuterium . Some researchers include them in the category of rogue planets whereas others call them planetary-mass brown dwarfs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oph 162225-240515</span>

Oph 162225-240515, often abbreviated Oph 1622, and also known as Oph 11, is a pair of brown dwarfs that have been reported as orbiting each other. The bodies are located in the constellation Scorpius and are about 400 light years away. Mass estimates of the two objects are uncertain, but they are probably each higher than the brown-dwarf/planet dividing line of 13 Jupiter masses. Oph1622B is located 1.94 arcseconds from Oph1622A, at a position angle of 182°.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-dwarf desert</span> Theorized range of orbits around a star within which brown dwarfs cannot exist as companion objects

The brown-dwarf desert is a theorized range of orbits around a star within which brown dwarfs are unlikely to be found as companion objects. This is usually up to 5 AU around solar mass stars. The paucity of brown dwarfs in close orbits was first noted between 1998 and 2000 when a sufficient number of extrasolar planets had been found to perform statistical studies. Astronomers discovered there is a distinct shortage of brown dwarfs within 5 AU of the stars with companions, while there was an abundance of free-floating brown dwarfs being discovered. Subsequent studies have shown that brown dwarfs orbiting within 3–5 AU are found around less than 1% of stars with a mass similar to the Sun (M☉). Of the brown dwarfs that were found in the brown-dwarf desert, most were found in multiple systems, suggesting that binarity was a key factor in the creation of brown-dwarf desert inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumbinary planet</span> Planet that orbits two stars instead of one

A circumbinary planet is a planet that orbits two stars instead of one. The two stars orbit each other in a binary system, while the planet typically orbits farther from the center of the system than either of the two stars. In contrast, circumstellar planets in a binary system have stable orbits around one of the two stars, closer in than the orbital distance of the other star. Studies in 2013 showed that there is a strong hint that a circumbinary planet and its stars originate from a single disk.

HD 16760 is a binary star system approximately 227 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. The primary star HD 16760 is a G-type main sequence star similar to the Sun. The secondary, HIP 12635 is 1.521 magnitudes fainter and located at a separation of 14.6 arcseconds from the primary, corresponding to a physical separation of at least 660 AU. Announced in July 2009, HD 16760 has been confirmed to have a red dwarf orbiting it, formerly thought to be a brown dwarf or exoplanet.

The five-planet Nice model is a numerical model of the early Solar System that is a revised variation of the Nice model. It begins with five giant planets, the four that exist today plus an additional ice giant between Saturn and Uranus in a chain of mean-motion resonances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circumplanetary disk</span> Accumulation of matter around a planet

A circumplanetary disk is a torus, pancake or ring-shaped accumulation of matter composed of gas, dust, planetesimals, asteroids or collision fragments in orbit around a planet. They are reservoirs of material out of which moons may form. Such a disk can manifest itself in various ways.

A Peter Pan disk is a circumstellar disk around a star or brown dwarf that appears to have retained enough gas to form a gas giant planet for much longer than the typically assumed gas dispersal timescale of approximately 5 million years. Several examples of such disks have been observed to orbit stars with spectral types of M or later. The presence of gas around these disks has generally been inferred from the total amount of radiation emitted from the disk at infrared wavelengths, and/or spectroscopic signatures of hydrogen accreting onto the star. To fit one specific definition of a Peter Pan disk, the source needs to have an infrared "color" of , an age of >20 Myr and spectroscopic evidence of accretion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GP Comae Berenices</span> White dwarf system in the constellation Coma Berenices

GP Comae Berenices, abbreviated to GP Com and also known as G 61-29, is a star system composed of a white dwarf orbited by a planetary mass object, likely the highly eroded core of another white dwarf star. The white dwarf is slowly accreting material from its satellite at a rate of (3.5±0.5)×10−11 M☉/year and was proven to be a low-activity AM CVn star. The star system is showing signs of a high abundance of ionized nitrogen from the accretion disk around the primary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delorme 1</span> Binary star system in the Phoenix constellation

Delorme 1 is a binary star with a planetary-mass companion (PMC) or protoplanet in a circumbinary orbit. The PMC is notable for showing signs of accretion, despite being 30-45 Myr old, making it similar to Peter Pan disks. These disks show characteristics of a gas-rich disk at unexpected high ages.

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Michael E.; Butler, Bryan (July 2023). "Masses and densities of dwarf planet satellites measured with ALMA". The Planetary Science Journal. 4 (10): 11. arXiv: 2307.04848 . Bibcode:2023PSJ.....4..193B. doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ace52a .
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  3. ↑ Basri, Gibor; Brown, E. M. (May 2006). "Planetesimals to Brown Dwarfs: What is a Planet?". Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. 34: 193–216. arXiv: astro-ph/0608417 . Bibcode:2006AREPS..34..193B. doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.34.031405.125058. S2CID   119338327.
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  7. ↑ Scholz, Aleks; Muzic, Koraljka; Jayawardhana, Ray; Almendros-Abad, Victor; Wilson, Isaac (2023-05-01). "Disks around Young Planetary-mass Objects: Ultradeep Spitzer Imaging of NGC 1333". The Astronomical Journal. 165 (5): 196. arXiv: 2303.12451 . Bibcode:2023AJ....165..196S. doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/acc65d . ISSN   0004-6256.
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