Template:Infobox planet

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This template has been designed for the presentation of information on non-stellar astronomical bodies: planets (including extrasolar planets), dwarf planets, moons and minor planets. Some parameters will not be applicable to individual types; these may be omitted without any problems to the template's function.

Usage notes

• This template expects that the <references /> tag will be present in articles setting the minorplanet parameter to yes. Pages without a <references /> tag will show Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page for a group named "note", but the references will not show without a <ref group="note"> tag; see Help:Cite errors. at the bottom of the page.
• When parameters relating to minor planets are used (e.g. mp_name), several subheadings and wikilinks within the template are made specific to minor planets. For standard formulas for computable values and sources of physical data, see Template talk:Infobox Nonstellar body#Computed values and Standard asteroid physical characteristics.
• The proper orbital element "Proper orbital period" (in Julian years and days) is calculated within the template from proper mean motion and so does not require a parameter.
• For bodies orbiting bodies other than the Sun, include the parameter |apsis= (appropriate suffix). This will replace various parameters' default "-helion" suffix to the suffix set by the |apsis= parameter. For example, setting |apsis= astron converts the labels "perihelion", "aphelion" and "Argument of perihelion" into "periastron", "apastron" and "Argument of periastron" respectively.

Recommended parameters

Planets and exoplanets

See § All parameters for a complete listing.

name

[[File:image|frameless|alt=image_alt]] caption
Discovery
Discovered by	discoverer
Discovery site	discovery_site
Discovery date	discovered
Detection method	discovery_method
Designations
Alternative names	alt_names
Orbital characteristics
Semi-major axis	semimajor
Eccentricity	eccentricity
Orbital period	period
Average orbital speed	avg_speed
Inclination	inclination
Angular distance	angular_dist
Longitude of periastron	long_periastron
Time of periastron	time_periastron
Semi-amplitude	semi-amplitude
Physical characteristics
Mean radius	mean_radius
Surface area	surface_area
Volume	volume
Mass	mass
Mean density	density
Surface gravity	surface_grav
Moment of inertia factor	moment_of_inertia_factor
Escape velocity	escape_velocity
Albedo	albedo
Temperature	single_temperature

{{Infobox planet
| extrasolarplanet   = yes
| name               = <!--on top of infobox-->
| image              = 
| image_alt          = 
| caption            = 
| apsis              = astron
| discovery_ref      = <!-- <ref>...</ref>-->
| discoverer         = 
| discovery_site     = 
| discovered         = <!--(Date)-->
| discovery_method   = 
| alt_names          = <!--(Any alternative names for the body)-->
| periastron         = 
| apoastron          = 
| semimajor          = 
| avg_speed          = <!--(Average orbital speed)-->
| eccentricity       = 
| period             = <!--(Orbital period)-->
| inclination        = 
| angular_dist       = 
| long_periastron    = <!--(Longitude of periastron)-->
| time_periastron    = <!--(Time of periastron)-->
| semi-amplitude     = 
| mean_radius        = <!--(For planets & large, spheroidal minor planets)-->
| surface_area       = 
| volume             = 
| density            = 
| mass               = 
| surface_grav       = <!--Equatorial surface gravity-->
| moment_of_inertia_factor = 
| escape_velocity    = 
| albedo             = 
| single_temperature = 
}}

Minor planets

See § All parameters for a complete listing.

name symbol

[[File:image|frameless|alt=image_alt]] caption
Discovery
Discovered by	discoverer
Discovery site	discovery site
Discovery date	discovered
Designations
MPC designation	mp_name
Alternative names	alt_names
Minor planet category	mp_category
Orbital characteristics
Epoch epoch
Uncertainty parameter uncertainty
Observation arc	observation arc length
Aphelion	aphelion
Perihelion	perihelion
Semi-major axis	semimajor
Eccentricity	eccentricity
Orbital period	period
Average orbital speed	avg_speed
Mean anomaly	mean_anomaly
Inclination	inclination
Longitude of ascending node	asc_node
Argument of perihelion	arg_peri
Known satellites	satellites
Earth MOID	earth moid
Mercury MOID	(see All parameters)
Proper orbital elements
Proper semi-major axis	p_semi_major AU
Proper eccentricity	p_eccentricity
Proper inclination	p_inclination
Proper mean motion	360 deg / yr
Proper orbital period	1 yr (365.25 d)
Precession of perihelion	perihelion_rate arcsec / yr
Precession of the ascending node	node_rate arcsec / yr
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	dimensions
Mass	mass
Mean density	density
Equatorial surface gravity	surface_grav
Moment of inertia factor	moment_of_inertia_factor
Equatorial escape velocity	escape_velocity
Sidereal rotation period	sidereal_day
Axial tilt	axial_tilt
Pole ecliptic latitude	pole_ecliptic_lat
Pole ecliptic longitude	pole_ecliptic_lon
Geometric albedo	albedo
Surface temp. min mean max Kelvin 150 200 Celsius −73
Spectral type	spectral_type
Absolute magnitude (H)	abs_magnitude

{{Infobox planet
| minorplanet        = yes
| background         = #FFFFC0 <!--default color, yellow-->
| name               = 
| symbol             = 
| image              = 
| image_alt          = 
| caption            = 
| discovery_ref      = <ref>...</ref>
| discoverer         = 
| discovered         = 
| discovery_site     = ''discovery_site''
| mp_name            = <!--(Minor planet name)-->
| mp_category        = <!--(Minor planet category)-->
| alt_names          = <!--(Alternative names)-->
| orbit_ref          = <ref>...</ref>
| epoch              = 
| uncertainty        = [[Uncertainty Parameter U]]
| observation_arc    = [[Observation arc]] length
| aphelion           = 
| perihelion         = 
| semimajor          = 
| eccentricity       = 
| period             = 
| avg_speed          = <!--(Average orbital speed)-->
| inclination        = 
| asc_node           = <!--(Longitude of ascending node)-->
| mean_anomaly       = 
| mean_motion        = <!--(Instantaneous orbital mean motion)-->
| arg_peri           = <!--(Argument of perihelion)-->
| p_orbit_ref        = <ref>...</ref>
| p_semimajor        = 
| p_eccentricity     = 
| p_inclination      = 
| p_mean_motion      = <!--(Proper orbital mean motion)-->
| perihelion_rate    = <!--(Proper perihelic precession rate)-->
| node_rate          = <!--(Proper nodal precession rate)-->
| satellites         = 
| moid               = <!--(Earth moid only)-->
| mercury_moid       = <!--(see "All parameters" section)-->
| physical_ref       = <ref>...</ref>
| dimensions         = <!--(Uni/bi/tri-axial dimensions)-->
| mass               = 
| density            = 
| surface_grav       = <!--(Equatorial surface gravity)-->
| moment_of_inertia_factor = <!--(Moment of inertia factor)-->
| escape_velocity    = 
| sidereal_day       = 
| axial_tilt         = 
| pole_ecliptic_lat  = <!--(Pole ecliptic latitude)-->
| pole_ecliptic_lon  = <!--(Pole ecliptic longitude)-->
| albedo             = 
| spectral_type      = 
| abs_magnitude      = <!--(Absolute magnitude)-->
| single_temperature = 
}}

See here for means of semi-automating this template's transclusion as regards minor planets.

• For satellites of minor planets, include the parameter |apsis= astron (see above).

Notes on usage

From Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomical objects/Infoboxes

Most of these entries should be measured in SI units. Some of them, however, should have more "human-accessible" units, in addition to SI units: several such cases are indicated with a second unit name in brackets. In the case of times (orbital periods, rotation), it is best to give all periods in days for comparison purposes, and provide a translation (in parentheses) into years, days, hours, etc.; whatever is most appropriate for the duration being described.

This template is very flexible. Moons with no atmosphere whatsoever could skip the atmospheric composition section entirely, for example (though atmospheric density would still be listed). Moons also wouldn't have their orbital radii listed in AU, since AUs are such large units. For planets, use "perihelion" and "aphelion" instead of "periapsis" and "apoapsis."

In the case of "number of moons" and "is a moon of", only one of these rows will be used by any given object. There aren't any moons with moons (yet), though perhaps "co-orbital with" might be a useful row to add in a few cases.

On orbital characteristics: The orbital circumference should be computed from the semi-major axis using Ramanujan's approximation for ellipses. The ratio of that circumference to the period then gives the average orbital speed. The minimum and maximum speeds follow from Kepler's laws: <math>v_{max} = 2\pi a^2 \frac{\sqrt{1-e^2}}{T a (1-e)}</math> and <math>v_{min} = 2\pi a^2 \frac{\sqrt{1-e^2}}{T a (1+e)}</math>. Note that, by convention, all orbital parameters are given in the primocentric reference system (heliocentric for the planets).

On proper orbital elements: The formulae used by the template to convert from proper mean motion to proper orbital motion are:
O_years = 360 / M   and
O_days = 365.25 x O_years

On physical characteristics: The surface area and volume of non-spherical objects (e.g. moonlets, asteroids) must use the proper ellipsoid formulae, because even slight departures from sphericity will make a large difference, particularly for the area.

On the subject of obliquity: Obliquity is the angle between the object's axis of rotation and the normal to the plane of its orbit. Do not confuse this with the tilt listed in the JPL pages, which is a measure of the angle between the local Laplace plane and the primary's equatorial plane. In fact, most inner moons have synchronous rotations, so their obliquities will be, by definition, zero. Outer moons simply have not been seen from close up enough to determine their true obliquities (although Phoebe, recently seen by Cassini, is an exception; see Talk:Phoebe (moon) for the derivation of its obliquity).

All parameters

{{Infobox planet
| minorplanet            = yes <!-- enables features for minor planets -->
| extrasolarplanet       = yes <!-- enables features for extrasolar planets -->
| width                  = <!-- Defunct. Do not use it. Remove it from existing templates. -->
| label_width            = <!-- Sets the parameter name column's max width. Defaults to 11em. -->
| name                   = <!-- displayed in caption of infobox -->
| symbol                 = <!--[[File:...|14px]]-->
| image                  = <!--[[File:...|260px]]-->
| image_alt              = 
| caption                = <!-- image caption -->
| background             = <!-- #FFFFC0 -->
| discovery_ref          = <ref>...</ref>
| discoverer             = <!-- person(s), survey -->
| discovery_site         = 
| discovered             = <!-- date -->
| discovery_method       = 
| designations           = <!-- Defunct. Do not use it. Remove it from existing templates. -->
| mp_name                = 
| pronounced             = {{IPAc-en|<!-- IPA string -->|}}
| named_after            = 
| alt_names              = 
| mp_category            = 
| adjectives             = 
| orbit_ref              = <ref>...</ref>
| orbit_diagram          = <!-- [[File:...|260px]]-->
| epoch                  = 
| uncertainty            = 
| observation_arc        = 
| apsis                  = 
| aphelion               = 
| perihelion             = 
| periastron             = 
| apoastron              = 
| periapsis              = 
| apoapsis               = 
| semimajor              = 
| mean_orbit_radius      = 
| eccentricity           = 
| period                 = 
| synodic_period         = 
| avg_speed              = <!--(Average orbital speed)-->
| mean_anomaly           = 
| mean_motion            = <!--(Instantaneous orbital mean motion)-->
| inclination            = 
| angular_dist           = <!--(Angular distance)-->
| asc_node               = <!--(Longitude of ascending node)-->
| long_periastron        = <!--(Longitude of periastron)-->
| time_periastron        = <!--(Time of periastron)-->
| arg_peri               = <!--(Argument of peri[helion/astron/...])-->
| semi-amplitude         = 
| satellite_of           = 
| satellites             = 
| moid                   = <!--(Earth MOID only)-->
| mercury_moid           = 
| venus_moid             = 
| mars_moid              = 
| jupiter_moid           = 
| saturn_moid            = 
| uranus_moid            = 
| neptune_moid           = 
| tisserand              = <!--(Jupiter Tisserand parameter)-->
| p_orbit_ref            = <ref>...</ref>
| p_semimajor            = 
| p_eccentricity         = 
| p_inclination          = 
| p_mean_motion          = <!--(Proper orbital mean motion)-->
| perihelion_rate        = <!--(Proper perihelic precession rate)-->
| node_rate              = <!--(Proper nodal precession rate)-->
| physical_ref           = <ref>...</ref>
| dimensions             = <!--(Uni/bi/tri-axial dimensions)-->
| mean_radius            = <!--(For planets & large, spheroidal minor planets)-->
| equatorial_radius      = 
| polar_radius           = 
| flattening             = 
| circumference          = 
| surface_area           = 
| volume                 = 
| mass                   = 
| density                = 
| surface_grav           = <!--(Equatorial surface gravity)-->
| moment_of_inertia_factor = <!--(Moment of inertia factor)-->
| escape_velocity        = 
| sidereal_day           = 
| rot_velocity           = <!--(Rotational velocity)-->
| rotation               = <!--(Rotation period)-->
| axial_tilt             = 
| right_asc_north_pole   = <!--(North pole right ascension)-->
| declination            = <!--(North pole declination)-->
| pole_ecliptic_lat      = <!--(Pole ecliptic latitude)-->
| pole_ecliptic_lon      = <!--(Pole ecliptic longitude)-->
| albedo                 = 
| single_temperature     = 
| temp_name1             = 
| min_temp_1             = 
| mean_temp_1            = 
| max_temp_1             = 
| temp_name2             = 
| min_temp_2             = 
| mean_temp_2            = 
| max_temp_2             = 
| temp_name3             = 
| min_temp_3             = 
| mean_temp_3            = 
| max_temp_3             = 
| temp_name4             = 
| min_temp_4             = 
| mean_temp_4            = 
| max_temp_4             = 
| spectral_type          = 
| family                 = 
| magnitude              = <!--(Apparent magnitude)-->
| abs_magnitude          = <!--(Absolute magnitude)-->
| angular_size           = 
| atmosphere_ref         = <ref>...</ref>
| surface_pressure       = 
| scale_height           = 
| atmosphere_composition = 
| note                   = 
}}

Computed values

This section documents how some minor planet parameters may be computed when they're not directly measured. More detail can be found in Standard asteroid physical characteristics.

Average orbital speed

This is very simply the orbital circumference divided by the orbital period.

The exact circumference of an ellipse is <math>4 a E(e)</math>, where a is the semi-major axis, e the eccentricity, and the function E is the complete elliptic integral of the second kind. This gives

<math>

v_o = \frac{4 a E(e)}{T} </math> E is close to <math> \pi / 2</math> when e is small.

An approximation using a taylor series expansion is

<math>

v_o = \frac{2\pi a}{T}\left[1-\frac{e^2}{4}-\frac{3e^4}{64} - \dots \right] </math>

AstOrb Browser computes a velocity using Ramanujan's approximation for an ellipse's circumference:

<math>v_o \approx \frac{\pi}{T} \left[3(a+b) - \sqrt{(3a+b)(a+3b)}\right] </math>

Where b is the orbit's semi-minor axis:

<math>b = a \sqrt{1-e^2}\,\!</math>

Surface gravity

Main article: Surface gravity

For a spherical body of mass m, and radius r, the gravitational acceleration at the surface, is given by

<math>g_{\rm spherical} = \frac{GM}{r^2}\,\!</math>

Where G = 6.6742×10⁻¹¹ m³s⁻²kg⁻¹ is the Gravitational constant, M is the mass of the body, and r its radius. This value is very approximate, as most minor planets are far from spherical.

For irregularly shaped bodies, the surface gravity will differ appreciably with location. However, at the outermost point/s, where the distance to the centre of mass is the greatest, the surface gravity is still given by a simple formula, a slightly modified version of the above that uses the largest radius <math>r_{\rm max}</math>

<math>g_{\rm outer} = \frac{GM}{r_{\rm max}^2}\,.\!</math>

because all the body's mass is contained within this radius.

On a rotating body, the apparent weight experienced by an object on the surface is reduced by the centrifugal force, when one is away from the poles. The centrifugal acceleration experienced at the equator is

<math>g_{\rm centrifugal} = -\left(\frac{2\pi}{T}\right)^2 r_{\rm eq}</math>

where T is the rotation period in seconds, and <math>r_{\rm eq}</math> is the equatorial radius (usually also the maximum radius used above). The negative sign indicates that it acts in the opposite direction to the gravitational acceleration g.

The effective surface gravity at the equator is then

<math> g_{\rm effective} \approx g_{\rm gravitational} + g_{\rm centrifugal}

= g_{\rm gravitational} - |g_{\rm centrifugal}|\ .</math>

Escape velocity

For surface gravity g and radius r, the escape velocity is:

<math>v_e = \sqrt{2gr}</math>

This value is much less sensitive to the factors affecting the surface gravity, mentioned above.

Temperature

For asteroid albedo α, semimajor axis a, solar luminosity <math>L_0</math>, and asteroid infrared emissivity ε (usually taken to be ~0.9), the approximate mean temperature T is given by:

<math>T = \left ( \frac{(1 - \alpha) L_0}{\epsilon \sigma 16 \pi a^2} \right )^{\frac{1}{4}}</math>

Where σ is Stefan-Boltzmann constant. See also Torrence V. Johnson; Paul R. Weissman; Lucy-Ann A. McFadden (2007). Encyclopedia of the Solar System. Elsevier. p. 294. ISBN 978-0-12-088589-3..

Microformat

Template parameters

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Minorplanet	minorplanet	when given a value (e.g. yes) it changes labels, section headings and links to a specifically customized version for minor planets. This is a functional parameter only and has no label or value that is displayed	String	optional
Extrasolarplanet	extrasolarplanet	when given a value (e.g. yes) it changes labels, section headings and links to a specifically customized version for extrasolar planets. This is a functional parameter only and has no label or value that is displayed	String	optional
Name	name	name of planet	String	optional
Symbol	symbol	symbol of planet	String	optional
Background	background	background color for section headings	String	optional
Background	bgcolour	deprecated parameter to set background color for section headings. Use parameter 'background' instead	String	deprecated
Width	width	defunct parameter to set width of infobox. Do not use it. Remove it from existing templates. Width of infobox can no longer be adjusted. However, if the template contains an image, the width of the infobox will adjust accordingly and change from its default width of about 260px	String	deprecated
Label_width	label_width	Max width of the parameter name column Default 11em	String	optional
Image	image	image of planet	String	optional
Caption	caption	caption	String	optional
Apsis	apsis		String	optional
Discovery	discovery	deprecated parameter to enable the 'Discovery' heading, which now displays automatically when a discovery parameter is set	String	deprecated
Discovery_ref	discovery_ref	<ref>...</ref>, reference displayed in section heading	String	optional
Discoverer	discoverer	discoverer of planet	String	optional
Discovery_site	discovery_site		String	optional
Discovered	discovered	discovered	String	optional
Discovery_method	discovery_method		String	optional
mp_name	mp_name		String	optional
Pronounced	pronounced		String	optional
Named_after	named_after		String	optional
mp_category	mp_category		String	optional
Alt_names	alt_names		String	optional
Orbital_characteristics	orbital_characteristics	deprecated parameter to enable the 'Orbital characteristics' heading, which now displays automatically when an orbital characteristic parameter is set	String	deprecated
Orbit_ref	orbit_ref	<ref>...</ref>, reference displayed in section heading	String	optional
Orbit_diagram	orbit_diagram	image link, just like in prose. ex.: [[File:1992 TC orbital diagram.jpg|260px]]	String	optional
Epoch	epoch		String	optional
Uncertainty_parameter	uncertainty		String	optional
Observation_arc	observation_arc		String	optional
Aphelion	aphelion		String	optional
Perihelion	perihelion		String	optional
Periastron	periastron		String	optional
Apoastron	apoastron		String	optional
Periapsis	periapsis		String	optional
Apoapsis	apoapsis		String	optional
Semimajor	semimajor		String	optional
Mean_orbit_radius	mean_orbit_radius		String	optional
Eccentricity	eccentricity		String	optional
Period	period		String	optional
Synodic_period	synodic_period		String	optional
Avg_speed	avg_speed	(Average orbital speed)	String	optional
Mean_anomaly	mean_anomaly		String	optional
Mean_motion	mean_motion		String	optional
Inclination	inclination		String	optional
Angular_dist	angular_dist	(Angular distance)	String	optional
Asc_node	asc_node	(Longitude of ascending node)	String	optional
Long_periastron	long_periastron	(Longitude of periastron)	String	optional
Time_periastron	time_periastron	(Time of periastron)	String	optional
Arg_peri	arg_peri		String	optional
Semi-amplitude	semi-amplitude		String	optional
p_orbit_ref	p_orbit_ref	<ref>...</ref>, reference displayed in section heading	String	optional
p_semimajor	p_semimajor		String	optional
p_eccentricity	p_eccentricity		String	optional
p_inclination	p_inclination		String	optional
p_mean_motion	p_mean_motion	(Proper orbital mean motion)	String	optional
Perihelion_rate	perihelion_rate	(Proper perihelic precession rate)	String	optional
Node_rate	node_rate	(Proper nodal precession rate)	String	optional
Satellite_of	satellite_of		String	optional
Satellites	satellites		String	optional
Moid	moid		String	optional
Mercury_moid	mercury_moid		String	optional
Venus_moid	venus_moid		String	optional
Mars_moid	mars_moid		String	optional
Jupiter_moid	jupiter_moid		String	optional
Saturn_moid	saturn_moid		String	optional
Uranus_moid	uranus_moid		String	optional
Neptune_moid	neptune_moid		String	optional
Tisserand	tisserand		String	optional
Physical_characteristics	physical_characteristics	deprecated parameter to enable the 'Physical characteristics' heading, which now displays automatically when a physical characteristic parameter is set	String	deprecated
Dimensions	dimensions		String	optional
Flattening	flattening		String	optional
Equatorial_radius	equatorial_radius		String	optional
Polar_radius	polar_radius		String	optional
Mean_radius	mean_radius		String	optional
Circumference	circumference		String	optional
Surface_area	surface_area		String	optional
Volume	volume		String	optional
Mass	mass		String	optional
Density	density		String	optional
Surface_grav	surface_grav	(Equatorial surface gravity)	String	optional
Moment_of_inertia_factor	moment_of_inertia_factor	(Moment of inertia factor)	String	optional
Escape_velocity	escape_velocity		String	optional
Sidereal_day	sidereal_day		String	optional
Rot_velocity	rot_velocity	(Rotational velocity)	String	optional
Axial_tilt	axial_tilt		String	optional
Right_asc_north_pole	right_asc_north_pole	(North pole right ascension)	String	optional
Declination	declination	(North pole declination)	String	optional
Pole_ecliptic_lat	pole_ecliptic_lat	(Pole ecliptic latitude)	String	optional
Pole_ecliptic_lon	pole_ecliptic_lon	(Pole ecliptic longitude)	String	optional
Albedo	albedo		String	optional
Single_temperature	single_temperature		String	optional
Temp_name1	temp_name1		String	optional
Min_temp_1	min_temp_1		String	optional
Mean_temp_1	mean_temp_1		String	optional
Max_temp_1	max_temp_1		String	optional
Temp_name2	temp_name2		String	optional
Min_temp_2	min_temp_2		String	optional
Mean_temp_2	mean_temp_2		String	optional
Max_temp_2	max_temp_2		String	optional
Spectral_type	spectral_type		String	optional
Magnitude	magnitude	(Apparent magnitude)	String	optional
Abs_magnitude	abs_magnitude	(Absolute magnitude)	String	optional
Angular_size	angular_size		String	optional
Pronounced	pronounced	{{IPA-en|<!-- IPA string -->|}}	String	optional
Adjectives	adjectives		String	optional
Atmosphere_ref	atmosphere_ref	<ref>...</ref>, reference displayed in section heading	String	optional
Surface_pressure	surface_pressure		String	optional
Scale_height	scale_height		String	optional
Atmosphere_composition	atmosphere_composition		String	optional

The HTML mark up produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the place-name and location parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue article across Wikipedia, or via a browser tool operated by a person, to (for example) add the subject to an address book. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikipedia, please see the microformat project.

If the place or venue has an "established", "founded", "opened" or similar date that is specific to the day, use {{start date}} unless the date is before 1583 CE. If it has a URL, use {{URL}}.

hCard uses HTML classes including:

• adr
• category
• country-name
• extended-address
• fn
• label
• locality
• nickname
• note
• org
• street-address
• url
• vcard

Please do not rename or remove these classes nor collapse nested elements which use them.

References

The above documentation is transcluded from Template:Infobox planet/doc. (edit | history)
Editors can experiment in this template's sandbox (create | mirror) and testcases (create) pages.
Add categories to the /doc subpage. Subpages of this template.