Question

Which is a characteristic of a dwarf planet?

A. They do not have enough mass and gravity to be nearly round.
B. They orbit around planets because they are satellites.
C. They have not cleared other objects out of their orbital paths.
D. They do not orbit around the Sun.

Answer 1

A characteristic of a dwarf planet is that it has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects, meaning its gravitational field is not dominant enough to remove other bodies in its vicinity. Dwarf planets, like other planets, orbit the sun and are generally round.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the field of astronomy, a key characteristic of a dwarf planet is the fact that unlike a typical planet, a dwarf planet has not cleared its neighboring region of other objects. Thus, the answer to your question is option C: They have not cleared other objects out of their orbital paths.

This means that while a dwarf planet, like a true planet, orbits the sun and is typically round, its gravitational field is not dominant enough to remove other bodies in its vicinity. Prominent examples of dwarf planets in our solar system include Pluto and Eris.

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