Potato radius

Look up potato radius, hydrostatic equilibrium, dwarf planets, or small Solar System body in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The potato radius is the size at which an asteroid is massive[1] enough that gravity begins to make it rounder.[2] The potato radius defines hydrostatic equilibrium and is used to separate dwarf planets from small solar system bodies.[3][4] Charles Lineweaver and Marc Norman at the Australian National University in Canberra first proposed an objective definition of a planet that separates potato-like objects from spherical ones.[5][6][7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hall, Ian. "What Makes Earth A Planet, Not A Potato?". The Average Scientist .co.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Potato radius". BBC Sky at Night Magazine. The Sky at Night, BBC. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  3. ^ Caplan, M. E. (November 2015). "Calculating the Potato Radius of Asteroids using the Height of Mt. Everest". arXiv:1511.04297 [physics.ed-ph].
  4. ^ Lineweaver, Charles H.; Norman, Marc (2010). "The potato radius: A lower minimum size for dwarf planets" (PDF). In Short, W.; Cairns, I. (eds.). Proceedings of 2009 Australian Space Science Conference. National Space Society of Australia. pp. 67–78. arXiv:1004.1091. ISBN 9780977574032. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "Picking Planets from Potatoes". phys.org. Astrobiology Magazine. April 26, 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  6. ^ "'Potato Radius' To Define Dwarf Planets". MIT Technology Review. Emerging Technology from the arXiv. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  7. ^ Nerlich, Steve (April 17, 2010). "Astronomy Without A Telescope – One Potato, Two Potato". Universe Today. Retrieved 1 August 2025.


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