Days of miracles and wonders
New Kuiper belt object discovered. Designated 2003UB313. Distance approx. 97 AU. 'Definitely bigger than Pluto'.
Damn.
The press, of course, is now due to do several thousand more column inches on nomenclature—whether this is the 'tenth planet', whether Pluto, Sedna, and this latest iceball ('Xena', I hear, perhaps), are properly to be called 'planets'. Which, gee, is of course the most interesting aspect of the story.
Regardless, the Kuiper belt just got to be a slightly more interesting place.
For reference, Pluto's mean orbital distance is about 39.5 AU. And depending a bit on surface brightness, this object may be 1.5 times Pluto's size.
Damn.
The press, of course, is now due to do several thousand more column inches on nomenclature—whether this is the 'tenth planet', whether Pluto, Sedna, and this latest iceball ('Xena', I hear, perhaps), are properly to be called 'planets'. Which, gee, is of course the most interesting aspect of the story.
Regardless, the Kuiper belt just got to be a slightly more interesting place.
For reference, Pluto's mean orbital distance is about 39.5 AU. And depending a bit on surface brightness, this object may be 1.5 times Pluto's size.
posted by AJM at 9:16 a.m. (Permanent Link)
