| star | celestial body that by itself actively emits radiation, of which the energy being internally produced by nuclear fusion | |
| planet | primary satellite of the Sun, with the property of having enough gravity that it formed itself into a round shape, having succeeded in clearing its orbital neighbourhood |
IAU definition of the terms planet, dwarf planet, plutoid, and small solar-system body |
| dwarf planet | like "planet", but not having succeeded in clearing its orbital neighbourhood | |
| plutoid | dwarf planet outside the orbit of Neptune | |
| small solar system body | primary satellite of the Sun, with not enough mass to be planet or dwarf planet: asteroids and comets | |
| comet | small solar-system body, which at least in the part of its orbit near the Sun develops a coma by fumigating | The precise definition and delimitation of these terms, one of each other, has not yet been decided by IAU |
| asteroid | small solar-system body, that is not a comet | |
| MB-asteroid | "Main Belt" asteroid = small solar-system body with semi-major axis between Mars and Jupiter | |
| TNO | "Trans-Neptunian Object" = small solar-system body with semi-major axis larger than Neptune (i.e. > 30 AU) | |
| plutino | TNO with 2:3-resonance to Neptune, like Pluto | |
| TNO/Ha.fam. | TNO and member of the collisional family of Haumea | |
| TNO/1:2 | TNO with 1:2-resonance to Neptune, sometimes called Twotino | |
| SDO | TNO with orbit in the "scattered disk" (semi-major axis > 50 AE) | |
| SDO/2:5 | TNO with 2:5-resonance to Neptune | |
| "moon" | small celestial body that primarily does not orbit the Sun, but an other celestial body A satellite of a satellite. | |