天文学では、惑星は、軌道上の支配的な重力になったときに「近隣をクリアした」と言われ、以前は存在していた小惑星や破片などの小さな物体のほとんどを除去または蓄積しました。これは、惑星が他のほとんどの体の軌道を重力で片付け、その宇宙の領域で支配的な体になったことを意味します。

その近隣をクリアした惑星は、天文学者が使用する厳格な定義では、軌道を片付けていない小さな身体とは対照的に、天文学者が使用する厳格な定義において「惑星」と見なされています。近所を片付けた惑星には、地球、木星、土星、天王星、海王星が含まれます。

私たちの太陽系では、惑星のサイズが大きくなり、近くのオブジェクトを引き付けるにつれて、近隣を片付けるプロセスは数十億年にわたって発生する段階的なプロセスです。惑星が軌道をクリアするのにかかる時間は、太陽系内のサイズ、質量、場所など、さまざまな要因に依存します。
In astronomy, a planet is said to have "cleared its neighborhood" when it has become the dominant gravitational force in its orbit and has removed or accumulated most of the smaller objects, such as asteroids and debris, that were previously present. This means that the planet has gravitationally cleared its orbit of most other bodies and has become the dominant body in that region of space.

A planet that has cleared its neighborhood is considered to be a "planet" in the strict definition used by astronomers, as opposed to a dwarf planet or a small body that has not cleared its orbit. Planets that have cleared their neighborhoods include Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

In our solar system, the process of clearing a neighborhood is a gradual one that occurs over billions of years, as a planet grows in size and attracts nearby objects. The time it takes for a planet to clear its orbit depends on a variety of factors, including its size, mass, and location within the solar system.