Pluto’s big brother (sister?) confirmed
Posted by Michael.
First seen a couple years ago by Palomar’s 48-inch telescope, but now confirmed, I guess they’re officially calling it the 10th planet, so that’s kinda cool. It’s at a way (44 degrees) inclined orbital angle (that’s probably not the correct astro-jargon) but the lower limit on the mass makes it still a bit larger than Pluto, and if the doggie hasn’t been kicked out of the club, I guess this dude “2003 UB313″ gets to hang with the big boys, too.
“This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system,” Michael Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said Friday in a telephone briefing announcing the discovery. The briefing was hastily arranged after Brown received word that a secure website containing the discovery was hacked and the hacker threatened to release the information.
July 31st, 2005 at 3:22 pm Using
I’d say orbital inclination…
So did you post this just because someone with [close to] your own name discovered it?
Woohoo! 10 planets now. (note: some people will try to claim only 8.)
July 31st, 2005 at 3:28 pm Using
heh, that’s funny - to be honest, i didn’t notice the name… but I guess that’s kinda cool.
10 sounds much better than 8. Not being an expert I don’t know if Pluto really counts, but I figure that if it does than this new one has to? what’re the most important criteria - mass/size, small orbital inclination, origin, etc?
July 31st, 2005 at 4:19 pm Using
well, it’s still up in the air as to what the real definition of “planet” is. some would argue that Pluto doesn’t count because it’s more like a Kuiper Belt object than like the other planets, due to the relatively large orbital inclination and eccentricity of the orbit. others suggest that it’s a planet because it’s round (i.e. it’s being held together by its own gravity), but then there are a number of other bodies in the outer reaches of the solar system (and perhaps the asteroid belt? i forget) that are also large enough to be be considered a planet by that definition. so basically to be considered a planet, you have to have been discovered before 1931 :). though i’m sure people will push the issue again with this discovery.