planet
Let an agent handle planets by definition, orbit, physical properties and discovery method, and deal with the boundary cases such as dwarf planets and unconfirmed exoplanets.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Definition and status Is it a planet.
Criteria
IAU and exoplanet criteria.
Status criteria
Which criteria it meets.
- Which definition of planet applies here, and does the object meet it? definition
- Is it a dwarf planet or a brown dwarf instead? boundary
Confirmation
Candidate or confirmed.
Confirmation status
The confirmation state.
- Is this planet confirmed, and by which method? provenance
- Has its existence been disputed? provenance
Orbit Its path around the star.
Orbital elements
Period, distance, eccentricity.
Orbital data
The orbital parameters.
- What are its orbital period, distance and eccentricity? measurement
- Is it in the habitable zone? boundary
System
Host star and siblings.
System context
The host star and other planets.
- Which star does it orbit, and what else is in the system? definition
- Are there resonances with other planets? measurement
Physical properties Mass, radius and atmosphere.
Bulk properties
Mass, radius, density.
Bulk data
Measured bulk values.
- What are its mass, radius and density? measurement
- Which values are measured and which inferred? provenance
Atmosphere and surface
Composition and conditions.
Atmosphere data
Atmosphere and surface data.
- What is known about its atmosphere and surface? measurement
- How was that measured? provenance
Exploration Missions and protection.
Missions
Spacecraft and telescopes.
Missions
Missions that studied it.
- Which missions have studied this planet? provenance
- Which are planned? provenance
Planetary protection
Avoiding contamination.
Protection category
The planetary protection category.
- Which planetary protection category applies to missions here? provenance
- What does it require? action
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.SPC
- Other names and narrower kinds
- ecumenopolis, exoplanet, unconfirmed exoplanet, inner planet of the Solar System, outer planet, Toroidal planet, Circumtriple planet, interplanetary, classical planet, terrestrial planet, inner and outer planets, Second generation planet
What it is Filled
A celestial body that orbits a star or stellar remnant, is massive enough for its gravity to make it nearly round, and has cleared its orbital neighbourhood, following the IAU 2006 definition for the Solar System; exoplanets use similar working criteria.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent handle planets by definition, orbit, physical properties and discovery method, and deal with the boundary cases such as dwarf planets and unconfirmed exoplanets.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Orbits a star, unlike a moon
- Has cleared its orbit, unlike a dwarf planet
- Does not fuse hydrogen, unlike a star
- Exoplanet status can be candidate, confirmed or disputed
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Present a planet candidate as confirmed.
- Mix Solar System and exoplanet criteria without saying so.
- Plan or support a mission that would contaminate another world against planetary protection rules.
Only with a human decision
- Any decision to land on or return samples from another world.
May
- Report planet properties and exoplanet status from official catalogues with the source.
- Distinguish confirmed planets from candidates.
Moral aspects Filled
- Other worlds may hold life or traces of it, and contamination cannot be undone.
- Claims of habitable worlds shape public expectations of science.
Who is affected
- Future science and exploration
- Any life that may exist elsewhere
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody owns a planet; space treaties bar national appropriation of celestial bodies.
Master systems
- Planetary and exoplanet catalogues of the astronomical community
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q3132741 - registry parent class
- Q400144 - registry parent class
related
- astronomical object - a major class
- star - planets belong to planetary systems
- moon - natural satellites are separate entries
- dwarf planet - Pluto and others fail the cleared-orbit criterion
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.planet
- Wikidata: Q634 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q634)
- exoplanet name: host star plus letter, such as 51 Pegasi b standard designation
- NASA Exoplanet Archive entry: archive record confirmed exoplanets
Direct properties required Filled
- mass: 0.055-318 Earth masses - Mercury to Jupiter; exoplanets up to about 13 Jupiter masses
- orbital period: hours to thousands of years time
Recognition required Filled
- Steady light and motion along the ecliptic
- Visible discs in a telescope for Solar System planets
- Exoplanets are detected indirectly, as dips in starlight or stellar wobble
- Solar System planets appear as bright, steady points that move against the stars; exoplanets are almost never seen directly.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- observe it, directly or by transit and radial velocity methods
- characterise it, for mass, radius, orbit and atmosphere
- explore it, with spacecraft
- name it, under IAU rules
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Treating candidates as confirmed exoplanets
- Mixing Solar System and exoplanet definitions
- Contaminating other worlds, which planetary protection prevents
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- IAU Resolution B5 (2006) definition of planet
- IAU naming rules for exoplanets
- COSPAR planetary protection policy
Context of use required Filled
- Understanding planetary systems, the Earth and the potential for life elsewhere.
- terrestrial planets
- gas giants
- ice giants
- exoplanets: hot Jupiters, super-Earths, mini-Neptunes
- rogue planets
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q634: planet - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Planet - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should exoplanets be registered as instances linked to host stars?
- How should disputed and retracted exoplanets be marked?
- Should the registry adopt a working exoplanet definition?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q634/spec.json