Jakarta –
Every time we observe outer space conditions, we are always presented with the appearance of planets shaped like balls. But, do you know what causes planets to be round?
In general, we have studied the planets in the solar system from Mercury to Neptune. All of them are round like a ball and some have rings, namely the planet Saturn.
In terms of size, the planet Mercury is the smallest in our solar system. Meanwhile, the planet Jupiter is the largest.
Reasons why planets are round
According to astrophysicist at NASA, Anjali Tripathi, planets have a round shape like a ball due to the influence of gravity. The gravitational rounding effect is a result of the planet’s own gravity exerted on itself.
For example, if the Moon accumulates enough mass, its own gravity will pull it into a ball-like shape.
When the universe formed from the Big Bang about 13.8 billion years ago, small dust particles collided with large donut-shaped pieces of dust. Each collision forms a snowball effect.
The more mass that accumulates on a planet, the greater its gravity and the more matter it attracts.
“Gravity pulls all matter towards the center of gravity. Like a sink, all the water will flow through the hole at the bottom. In the case of planets, each material tries to get as close as possible to the center of gravity,” said Bruno Merin, quoted from Live Science.
Given the existing conditions, these space objects will continue to shift matter until everything is balanced, that is, where each point is as close to the center as possible.
According to Merin, to achieve balance in outer space, the only shape that can achieve balance with the center of gravity is a ball.
Almost Perfectly Round
Not all planets have a perfectly round shape. In our solar system, the planets that have the most perfect spherical shape are Mercury and Venus.
This is because rocky planets rotate more slowly than other planets. Apart from that, ice planets also tend to be almost perfectly round in shape, due to the layer of ice that is evenly distributed on their surface.
The round shape in this case does not mean that every planet has a shape like a perfect ball. For example, the planets Jupiter and Saturn, which are giant gas planets, have a bulge at their equator. This shape is caused by the rotation speed.
Saturn is more likely to be shaped like a basketball someone is sitting on, so it’s not exactly perfectly round.
The True Shape of the Planet
As is known, the Earth is also not perfectly round, because it has a small bulge of less than 1 percent caused by centrifugal force.
Centrifugal force is the force that comes out of a rotating object. So in this case, the Earth is actually round, rather flat or oblate.
This shape of the Earth is proof that not all space objects have a round shape like a ball.
Apart from planets, asteroids and comets are also not round but have various and irregular shapes. This is due to changes due to collisions and rotation between stars, such as Mars having a Moon that is shaped like a potato or called Phobos.
Facts show that only about 20 of the nearly 300 Moons have the round shape we have imagined in the Solar System. The rest have irregular shapes.
This lower mass and indicating insufficient gravity makes the Moon have an uneven shape, not perfectly round.
Watch the video “Scientists Say Humans Have Pushed Earth into the ‘Planetary Boundary’ Danger Zone”
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2023-11-17 13:30:49
#planets #turns #reason
