Definition of planet object can be irregular in shape, but beyond that point gravity begins to pull an object towards its own centre of mass until the object collapses into an ellipsoid. (None of the large objects of the Solar System are truly spherical. Many are spheroids, and several, such as the larger moons of Jupiter and Saturn and the dwarf planet , have been further distorted into ellipsoids by rapid rotation or tidal forces, but still in hydrostatic equilibrium.) However, there is no precise point at which an object can be said to have reached hydrostatic equilibrium. As Soter noted in his
Vulcan (hypothetical planet) circular orbits of Venus and Earth. Einstein's theory was empirically verified during the solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 by measuring the bending of sunlight. Astronomers generally quickly accepted that a large planet inside the orbit of Mercury could not exist, given the corrected equation of gravity. Observing a planet inside the orbit of Mercury is difficult, since the telescope must be pointed very close to the Sun, where the sky is only dark during a solar eclipse. Also, an error in pointing the telescope can result in damage for the optics, and injury to the observer if viewing directly.