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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:37:03 PM EDT
Moons, planets, sun, etc. all appear to be perfectly round spheres. Why is that? Asteroids and other space rocks are irregular in shape. How come they aren't spheres?
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OK, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:38:08 PM EDT
[#1]
Rotation?
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SC, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:38:43 PM EDT
[#2]
Gravity and shit
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WI, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:38:44 PM EDT
[Last Edit: xenophon21]
[#3]
gravity
eta: and shit, yeah |
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:38:51 PM EDT
[#4]
Our visual systems lack the precision to perceive their eccentricities.
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COL
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:39:07 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Vexed: Rotation? Rotation and their own gravity based on mass. 
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:39:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: jerrwhy01]
[#6]
Because it’s really hard to see all the nooks and crannies when something is that far away.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:39:58 PM EDT
[#7]
The earth isn’t even perfectly round
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:41:48 PM EDT
[#8]
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NE, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:41:56 PM EDT
[#9]
Our eyes arent that accurate. We were taught from a young age they are round. So we think thay are round. They arent.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:43:25 PM EDT
[#10]
It is a mass issue.
Smaller asteroids don't have enough mass for their gravity to eventually mold them into a spherical shape. |
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:44:14 PM EDT
[#11]
Too much masturbation affecting your eyesight.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:48:32 PM EDT
[#12]
Mass/size.
The earth isn't perfectly round but relatively speaking it is. Once an object gets to a certain size it's gravity creates a nice sphere esp if it's made of mainly gases. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:48:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Oiparhon]
[#13]
Because the race of beings that solarformed them wanted to use the least amount of material so it shaped them like pizzas in the sky. The asteroids are the toppings.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:48:59 PM EDT
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Dumak: It is a mass issue. Smaller asteroids don't have enough mass for their gravity to eventually mold them into a spherical shape. IIRC Ceres is just over the minimum mass needed for a spherical shape to be taken. Some bodies will have enough mass to affect their shape but not enough and end up with a more pronounced ellipsoid shape, and we do have a few of these in our solar system, I believe. |
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:49:18 PM EDT
[#15]
God created them that way - they certainly didn’t create themselves
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:49:47 PM EDT
[#16]
Originally Posted By ddollen: Moons, planets, sun, etc. all appear to be perfectly round spheres. Why is that? Asteroids and other space rocks are irregular in shape. How come they aren't spheres? This is one of the key differences between a planet and an asteroid. They have enough mass and therefore enough gravity there their gravitational forces pull them into a sphere via the temperature and pressure created by those forces. |
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AR, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:54:54 PM EDT
[#17]
Didn't black science guy say something like, 'if earth is scaled to the size of a cue ball, it would be smoother than any cue ball produced'.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:55:11 PM EDT
[#18]
Gravity.
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:57:42 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By California_Kid: Our visual systems lack the precision to perceive their eccentricities. Translated to layman’s terms = “and shit” |
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Posted: 9/6/2024 5:59:45 PM EDT
[Last Edit: boolzi]
[#20]
Asteroids/space rocks are chunks that come from broken spheres, spheres that are created and grow into perfect spheres as they consume dust/asteroids/space rocks/gasses over time, like 14.8 billion years. Asteroids and such are much younger and don’t have the ingredients available as all the perfect spheres have consumed it inside a solar system.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:09:42 PM EDT
[#21]
Magnets
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:10:20 PM EDT
[#22]
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:12:24 PM EDT
[Last Edit: AZ_Sky]
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By splitbolt: Didn't black science guy say something like, 'if earth is scaled to the size of a cue ball, it would be smoother than any cue ball produced'. Yes, the Earths oblateness is 'rounder' than the standard 'in spec allowance' of a cue ball, however it is not necessarily smoother than a cue ball in areas where there are mountains and valleys. |
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:12:26 PM EDT
[#24]
Cue the:
"People don't think space be like it is, but it do" - Black science Man Meme 
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:21:06 PM EDT
[#25]
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:21:54 PM EDT
[#26]
Uranus sure ain't round even if the rest of you is
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:23:23 PM EDT
[#27]
Ha! Check out these fucking nerds who think space is real!
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VA, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:25:31 PM EDT
[#28]
Because science and shit.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:26:41 PM EDT
[#29]
I observed some very nice celestial bodies a couple minutes ago on BOTD. Plan on observing more. Thank you.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:32:36 PM EDT
[#30]
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:34:21 PM EDT
[#31]
I was told that if you looked at Earth from space, it would resemble a blue crepe. Flat Earthers, and shit.
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MT, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:36:55 PM EDT
[#32]
They're actually just PAR cans... 
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:37:58 PM EDT
[#33]
Check out Jupiter or Saturn in a telescope, they really do not appear to be perfectly round but oval. They are markedly "Oblate" because they're not solid, so they bulge along the equator due to the spinning. All planets have that to some degree but its not as pronounced on rocky ones.
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MN, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 6:38:32 PM EDT
[#34]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AZ_Sky: Yes, the Earths oblateness is 'rounder' than the standard 'in spec allowance' of a cue ball, however it is not necessarily smoother than a cue ball in areas where there are mountains and valleys. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By AZ_Sky: Originally Posted By splitbolt: Didn't black science guy say something like, 'if earth is scaled to the size of a cue ball, it would be smoother than any cue ball produced'. Yes, the Earths oblateness is 'rounder' than the standard 'in spec allowance' of a cue ball, however it is not necessarily smoother than a cue ball in areas where there are mountains and valleys. I think he said even taking into account mountains and deep see trenches it would be that smooth. If you measure the distance from the highest to lowest point you get what, 10-11 miles? Earths diameter is just under 8000 miles so that’s .1%. |
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AZ, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:08:35 PM EDT
[#35]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: IIRC Ceres is just over the minimum mass needed for a spherical shape to be taken. Some bodies will have enough mass to affect their shape but not enough and end up with a more pronounced ellipsoid shape, and we do have a few of these in our solar system, I believe. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By bigstick61: Originally Posted By Dumak: It is a mass issue. Smaller asteroids don't have enough mass for their gravity to eventually mold them into a spherical shape. IIRC Ceres is just over the minimum mass needed for a spherical shape to be taken. Some bodies will have enough mass to affect their shape but not enough and end up with a more pronounced ellipsoid shape, and we do have a few of these in our solar system, I believe. What exactly is an "Extreme Conservative Arch-Liberal"? Sounds... contradictory. Unless you're talking about Liberalism as defined by Reagan e.g. Classical Liberalism. Also, regarding your sig line. I'm borderline dyslexic, and when I first took interest in politics, and kept running into based quotes by Lord Acton... I read his name as "Lord Action". Imagine my disappointment when I finally realized the "i" didn't exist. 
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:14:50 PM EDT
[#36]
I have it on good authority that the earth is, in fact, banana-shaped.
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:15:37 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By -Abyss-: I have it on good authority that the earth is, in fact, banana-shaped. "Oblique Sphereoid" |
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NM, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:16:10 PM EDT
[#38]
Because the Borg copyrighted and trademarked the cube shape way back when
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:18:17 PM EDT
[#39]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Silverbulletz06: "Oblique Sphereoid" Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Silverbulletz06: Originally Posted By -Abyss-: I have it on good authority that the earth is, in fact, banana-shaped. "Oblique Sphereoid" 
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:20:13 PM EDT
[#40]
A lot of people will tell you it's because "gravity and shit" but they are ass backwards morons. It's because shit and gravity.
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KS, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:39:57 PM EDT
[#41]
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USA
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:40:46 PM EDT
[#42]
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:44:33 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Cypher214: Ha! Check out these fucking nerds who think space is real! Let me guess. You’re one of the guys who thinks that Earth is real?
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:46:11 PM EDT
[#44]
The moons of Saturn may give the best illustration of the mass/gravitation v geometry. Go to the Wikipedia site, scroll down to the table, and then sort on descending diameter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Saturn The best I can do is give you this photo. In the full resolution file, Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is about 4-9 pixels, if that.  |
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Posted: 9/6/2024 11:48:05 PM EDT
[#45]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By L_JE: The moons of Saturn may give the best illustration of the mass/gravitation v geometry. Go to the Wikipedia site, scroll down to the table, and then sort on descending diameter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moons_of_Saturn The best I can do is give you this photo. In the full resolution file, Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is about 4-9 pixels, if that. https://photos.smugmug.com/Events/Celestial/i-SCm6hTg/2/M9CWqZLr9sjqDFfWxgks8TZWP2QkTCHMJWKvwX87x/X3/DSC_5728%2B36%2B38A2z%20-%202160-X3.jpg |
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Posted: 9/7/2024 12:12:43 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Sierra5]
[#46]
Blow up a balloon into a square
Also gravity |
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Posted: 9/7/2024 12:36:13 AM EDT
[#47]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SmilingBandit: Let me guess. You're one of the guys who thinks that Earth is real? Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By SmilingBandit: Originally Posted By Cypher214: Ha! Check out these fucking nerds who think space is real! Let me guess. You're one of the guys who thinks that Earth is real? Fuck no. It's turtles all the way down, bro. |
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USA
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Posted: 9/7/2024 12:58:11 AM EDT
[#48]
Very few of them actually are.
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Posted: 9/7/2024 1:54:19 AM EDT
[#49]
Gravity.
The tightest you can pack any group of particles together eventually forms a spheroid. Hence water drops, fruit, etc. are spheroid except distorted a bit by growth limit and air drag. |
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Posted: 9/7/2024 2:03:04 AM EDT
[#50]
Sun, moon, stars, quasars.... motherfuckers sound like Elroy Jetson.
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