# New Planet found past Pluto



## Puritan Sailor (Jul 29, 2005)

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,164171,00.html

Astronomers Say They've Found New Planet 
Friday, July 29, 2005

LOS ANGELES "” Astronomers announced Friday that they have discovered a new planet larger than Pluto in orbit around the sun, likely renewing debate over what exactly is a planet and whether Pluto should keep its status. 

The planet "” the farthest-known object in the solar system "” is currently 9 billion miles away from the sun, or about three times Pluto's current distance from the sun.

"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 in a telephone briefing Friday.

Brown labeled the object as a 10th planet, but there are scientists who dispute the classification of Pluto as such.

Astronomers do not know the new planet's exact size, but its brightness shows that it is at least as large as Pluto and could be up to 11/2 times bigger. The research was funded by NASA.

Brown has submitted a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, which has yet to act on the proposal, but he did not release the proposed name Friday.

The briefing was hastily arranged after Brown received word that a secure Web site containing the discovery was hacked and the hacker threatened to release the information.

Brown and colleagues Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory and David Rabinowitz of Yale University first photographed the object in 2003 using a 48-inch telescope at the Palomar Observatory.

But it was so far away that its motion was not detected until data was analyzed again this past January. It will take at least six months before astronomers can determine its exact size.

It has taken scientists this long to find the planet because its orbit is at an angle compared to the orbits of most planets. The new planet is rocky and icy, similar to Pluto, Brown said.

Alan Stern of the Southwestern Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., said he was not surprised by the discovery since other objects around the size of Pluto have been found in the Kuiper belt, a disc of icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune.

What's unique about the latest finding is that the object appears to be bigger than Pluto, he said.

"Unless they've made a grave mistake, this is for real," said Stern, who had no role in the discovery.


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## Dan.... (Jul 30, 2005)

This sounds similar to Sedna:

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/sedna/

[Edited on 7-30-2005 by Dan....]


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## Dan.... (Jul 30, 2005)

See also:

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~chad/2004dw/


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## turmeric (Jul 30, 2005)

Let's name the new one Pluto and call Pluto Snoopy.


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## Puritan Sailor (Jul 30, 2005)

That's some neat stuff Dan.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jul 30, 2005)

Very interesting. More here.


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## turmeric (Jul 30, 2005)

Named after deities of the underworld - I got it! Al Capone!


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## Bladestunner316 (Jul 30, 2005)

Awsome find Patrick!!


Blade


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## Dan.... (Jul 30, 2005)

Aparently at this point in time the "new planet" is further away than Sedna, however, Sedna's elipse takes it out much further than the new planet's elipse:



> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/30/s...&en=8500b2cc7e8e63c0&ei=5094&partner=homepage
> 
> The new object - as yet unnamed, but temporarily known as 2003 UB313 - is now 9 billion miles away from the Sun, or 97 times as far away as Earth and about three times Pluto's current distance from the Sun. Its 560-year elliptical orbit brings it as close as 3.3 billion miles. Pluto's orbit ranges from 2.7 billion miles to 4.6 billion.
> 
> Last year, the same team announced the discovery of a distant body they named Sedna, which, until the latest discovery, had held the title of farthest known object in the solar system. But Sedna, smaller than Pluto, is on a far stranger, 10,500-year orbit that takes it as far out as 84 billion miles.



[Edited on 7-30-2005 by Dan....]


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## Augusta (Jul 30, 2005)

Meg you crack me up.


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## Dan.... (Oct 9, 2005)

The 10th planet has a moon:

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/moon/index.html


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## Average Joey (Oct 9, 2005)

Knowing how these atheistic scientists act,they`ll probably name it Darwin.


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## ReformedWretch (Oct 9, 2005)

I want to know where this falls on the rapture clock!


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## Puritan Sailor (Oct 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> I want to know where this falls on the rapture clock!



When they decide to name one Wormwood, then you will know....


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## turmeric (Oct 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by puritansailor_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by houseparent_
> ...


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## Bladestunner316 (Oct 10, 2005)

http://www.ips.gov.au/IPSHosted/neo/index.html


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## turmeric (Oct 10, 2005)




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## apaleífo̱ (Oct 9, 2006)

What annoys me most is that because a new object has been found past Pluto (I believe astronomers are referring to it as 'Planet X'), scientists have now concluded that Pluto is no longer a planet. As a long-time Lovecraftian reader, this irks me no end...


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## Cheshire Cat (Oct 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by christabella_warren_
> What annoys me most is that because a new object has been found past Pluto (I believe astronomers are referring to it as 'Planet X'), scientists have now concluded that Pluto is no longer a planet. As a long-time Lovecraftian reader, this irks me no end...



Its not just that a new object has been found past pluto. Pluto has always been different from the terrestrial and jovian planets, although it does exhibit some aspect of both. Also, its orbital plane is far more eccentric and inclined than any of the other planets. There are many objects in the kuiper belt that are probably just as big as pluto. I think the best way to describe pluto is a dwarf...comet...planet. Its definitely not just because we discovered another object past pluto. 

[Edited on 10-12-2006 by caleb_woodrow]


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Oct 12, 2006)

See the Walt Disney press release here.


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