Planet vs. Satellite — What's the Difference?

Celestial body

Orbiting moon

Geological entity

Man-made spacecraft

A planet is an astronomical body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and – according to the International Astronomical Union but not all planetary scientists – has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, astrology, science, mythology, and religion. Apart from Earth itself, five planets in the Solar System are often visible to the naked eye.

Natural body

A celestial body moving in an elliptical orbit round a star.

Communication device

In the traditional model of solar systems, a celestial body larger than an asteroid or comet, illuminated by light from a star, such as the sun, around which it revolves.

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit. These objects are called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth's Moon.

A celestial body that orbits the sun, has sufficient mass to assume nearly a round shape, clears out dust and debris from the neighborhood around its orbit, and is not a satellite of another planet.

An object launched to orbit Earth or another celestial body, as a device for reflecting or relaying radio signals or for capturing images.

One of the seven celestial bodies, Mercury, Venus, the moon, the sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, visible to the naked eye and thought by ancient astronomers to revolve in the heavens about a fixed Earth and among fixed stars.

(Astronomy) A celestial body, such as a moon, planet, comet, or other solar system body, that orbits a larger body.

The collection of life forms supported on Earth

A small unit in a system or organization that is managed or controlled by a larger, often centrally located unit.

People as a whole; humankind or the general public

A nation dominated politically and economically by another nation.

One of the seven revolving astrological celestial bodies that in conjunction with the stars are believed to influence human affairs and personalities.

An urban or suburban community located near a big city.

Each of the seven major bodies which move relative to the fixed stars in the night sky—the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

One who attends a powerful dignitary; a subordinate.

(astronomy) A body which is massive enough to be in hydrostatic equilibrium (generally resulting in being an ellipsoid) but not enough to attain nuclear fusion and, in IAU usage, which directly orbits a star (or star cluster) and dominates the region of its orbit; specifically, in the case of the Solar system, the eight major bodies of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

A subservient follower; a sycophant.

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(Genetics) A short segment of a chromosome separated from the rest by a constriction, typically associated with the formation of a nucleolus.

A celestial body which revolves about the sun in an orbit of a moderate degree of eccentricity. It is distinguished from a comet by the absence of a coma, and by having a less eccentric orbit. See Solar system.

(Microbiology) A colony of microorganisms whose growth in culture medium is enhanced by certain substances produced by another colony in its proximity.

A star, as influencing the fate of a men.

Of, relating to, or being a satellite.

Any of the celestial bodies (other than comets or satellites) that revolve around the sun in the solar system

Of or relating to the transmission of electromagnetic signals by communications satellite

A person who follows or serves another

A moon or other smaller body orbiting a larger one.

Spherical body

A man-made apparatus designed to be placed in orbit around a celestial body, generally to relay information, data etc. to Earth.

Orbiting object

A country, state, office, building etc. which is under the jurisdiction, influence, or domination of another body.

Independent body

An attendant on an important person; a member of someone's retinue, often in a somewhat derogatory sense; a henchman.

Satellite TV; reception of television broadcasts via services that utilize man-made satellite technology.

(grammar) A grammatical construct that takes various forms and may encode a path of movement, a change of state, or the grammatical aspect. Examples: "a bird flew past"; "she turned on the light".

To transmit by satellite.

An attendant attached to a prince or other powerful person; hence, an obsequious dependent.

A secondary planet which revolves about another planet; as, the moon is a satellite of the earth. See Solar system, under Solar.

Situated near; accompanying; as, the satellite veins, those which accompany the arteries.

Man-made equipment that orbits around the earth or the moon

A person who follows or serves another

Any celestial body orbiting around a planet or star

Broadcast or disseminate via satellite

Surrounding and dominated by a central authority or power;

Orbital object

No, satellites can be natural like moons or man-made like the Hubble Space Telescope.

There are eight recognized planets in our solar system.

Ganymede, a moon of Jupiter, is the largest satellite in our solar system.

Satellites stay in orbit due to the balance of gravitational forces and their forward momentum.

Yes, both natural and artificial satellites have collided in space before.

Planets are named according to guidelines set by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

Technically, planets are not considered satellites, as they orbit stars, not other planets.

Man-made satellites cannot; however, natural satellites like moons theoretically could, but none are known.

A planet is defined by its ability to orbit a star, maintain a nearly round shape, and clear its orbit of debris.

Not all; for example, Mercury and Venus do not have natural satellites.

Artificial satellites are used for communication, weather monitoring, navigation, and research.

Dwarf planets have not cleared their orbit of other debris.

No, planets are found around other stars throughout the universe, known as exoplanets.