# A new planet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 26, 2007, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720 "2007-04-26T11:49:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/1 "2007-04-26T11:49:47Z")
If all the asteroids in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter were smushed togther into one mass, how big a planet would that make? ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/2 "2007-04-26T12:34:31Z")
A tiny one. According to [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid) and the articles it cites, the total mass of all the asteroids is about 4% the mass of the Moon; in terms of linear dimensions (and assuming a fairly constant density), this would correspond to about one-third the diameter of the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/3 "2007-04-26T15:12:43Z")
Bummer. There goes my plan. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/4 "2007-04-26T15:18:11Z")
I thought this was about the presumed earth-like planet found recently. Of it, Steven Colbert said that another earth has been found, so drive that Hummer. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/5 "2007-04-26T16:38:31Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] Bummer. There goes my plan. [/QUOTE] Why not just move Ganymede or Titan to a habitable orbit? That’s got to be easier than trying to collect all the loose fluff in the asteroid belt, and it’s not like anybody is going to miss them, what with all the moons that Jupiter and Saturn have to spare. (Triton, however, will definitely be missed, so you’ll want to leave it be, lest the police ring by to make inquires about your recent travel plans.) It really is easier to [outsource](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_The_Hitchhiker's_Guide_to_the_Galaxy#Magrathea) this sort of thing, but the cost is prohibitive for all but major pan-dimensional conglomerates. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/6 "2007-04-26T17:59:26Z")
It’s not just about making a planet. Gathering up all the asteroids would be like the mack-daddy of all OCD achievements. And if someone gives you crap about it you can chuck one at them. ---
**Author:** ![misling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@misling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misling)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/7 "2007-04-26T18:13:52Z")
How about nicking some moon that won’t be noticed, putting it in the right spot, and then flinging all the asteroids at it? Might get a bigger planet that way. If you’re not in a hurry, and you found a good orbit for it, it would probably sweep up all the asteroids by itself, in a few millenia. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/8 "2007-04-26T18:45:08Z")
[QUOTE=misling] How about nicking some moon that won’t be noticed, putting it in the right spot, and then flinging all the asteroids at it? Might get a bigger planet that way. [/QUOTE] I tried that but this stupid black monolith kept getting in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/9 "2007-04-26T18:45:43Z")
> [@](#): > > How about nicking some moon that won’t be noticed, putting it in the right spot, and then flinging all the asteroids at it? Might get a bigger planet that way. The thing is, if you’ve already got a moon there, there’s not much point in chucking asteroids at it. The largest moons (Ganymede, Titan, and maybe Callisto) are bigger than Mercury, and hence would unambiguously be planets in their own right, if they were in a solar orbit. > [@](#): > > And if someone gives you crap about it you can chuck one at them. But then you wouldn’t have them all gathered up! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2007, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-planet/401720/10 "2007-04-26T18:59:22Z")
[QUOTE=Hypno-Toad] I tried that but this stupid black monolith kept getting in the way. [/QUOTE] Don’t touch it; it’s full of stars. Stranger