New Planet Is Bigger Than Pluto

AP on Yahoo ^ | 2/1/06 | Alicia Chang - ap

[NormsRevenge]

LOS ANGELES - Scientists say they have confirmed that a so-called 10th planet discovered last year is bigger than Pluto, but that likely won't quell the debate over what makes a planet.

The astronomers who spotted the icy, rocky body — informally called UB313 — had reported only a rough estimate of its size based on its brightness.

But another group of researchers has come up with what is believed to be the first calculation of UB313's diameter.

By measuring how much heat it radiates, German scientists led by Frank Bertoldi of the University of Bonn estimated that UB313 was about 1,864 miles across. That makes it larger than Pluto, which has a diameter of about 1,429 miles.

"It is now increasingly hard to justify calling Pluto a planet if UB313 is not also given this status," Bertoldi said in a statement.

Details were published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Some astronomers have debated over what is a planet and whether Pluto should keep its status. The difficulty is there is no official definition and some argue that setting standards like size limits opens the door too wide.

Michael Brown, the astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who discovered UB313 and announced it last July, said the Germans' measurement seemed plausible. He said his team is using the Hubble Space Telescope to directly figure out its size.

Brown previously reported that UB313 was thought to be larger than Pluto and estimated that it was most likely between 1,398 miles and 2,175 miles in diameter.

If it is determined to be the 10th planet, it would be the farthest-known body in the solar system.

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On the Net:

Nature journal: http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html

Caltech: http://www.caltech.edu

[Mr. Jeeves]

UB313 is a cool enough name, but Bacchus would be even better if they decide to promote it to planet status. ;)

[NormsRevenge]

'Tenth Planet' found to be a whopper

Large size of 2003 UB313 fuels debate over what is and isn't a planet.

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060130/full/060130-7.html

I need to snag a pic..

[thoughtomator]

And it appears to have a moon, too:

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

[iPod Shuffle]

My
Very
Earnest
Mother
Just
Served
Us
Nine
Pizza Pies!


There CAN'T be a 10th planet!

[NormsRevenge]

Click image for Keck page re: "Tenth Planet" ..
Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory

An image of the most distant planet (2003 UB313) ever seen in the Solar System. A companion (right) was discovered at Keck Observatory on September 10, 2005 (UT).

This near-infrared image is a composite of 24 exposures taken at 2.1 micron wavelength with the Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics System on the Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea. The ability of the system to detect extremely faint objects at high spatial resolution is advancing the understanding of binary Kuiper belt objects.

---

Xena is the little blip on the right, a moon of UB313

[Buck W.]

Sheila Jackson Lee wants to know if that dot in the middle is the flag that the astronauts left there.

[CougarGA7]

I dont think he's very big.

[NormsRevenge]

Yup, Xena..

This is the place that did the observing.. Hawaii

W. M. Keck Observatory

Mauna Kea , Hawaii

From a remote outpost on the summit of Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano, astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory probe the deepest regions of the Universe with unprecedented power and precision.

Their instruments are the twin Keck Telescopes, the world's largest optical and infrared telescopes. Each stands eight stories tall and weighs 300 tons, yet operates with nanometer precision. At the heart of each Keck Telescope is a revolutionary primary mirror. Ten meters in diameter, the mirror is composed of 36 hexagonal segments that work in concert as a single piece of reflective glass.

[SunkenCiv]

"To Pluto And Far Beyond" By David H. Levy, Parade, January 15, 2006 -- We don't have a dictionary definition yet that includes all the contingencies. In the wake of the new discovery, however, the International Astronomical Union has set up a group to develop a workable definition of planet. For our part, in consultation with several experienced planetary astronomers, Parade offers this definition: A planet is a body large enough that, when it formed, it condensed under its own gravity to be shaped like a sphere. It orbits a star directly and is not a moon of another planet.

[SunkenCiv]

Space ping?

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks!

Levy as in Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

One of the more memorable celestial events witnessed live by some, imo, which consisted of at least 21 discernable fragments with diameters estimated at up to 2 kilometers.

[SunkenCiv]

Astronomers Find a New Planet in Solar System (all such topics listed)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1453462/posts?page=61#61

[SunkenCiv]

That's the guy! I have the very highest regard for him.

Asteroids: Deadly Impact National Geographic

[dfwgator]

UB313 is a cool enough name

Wasn't that the name of a famous 80s pseudo-Reggae band?

[Mr. Jeeves]

That was UB40...but close enough. ;)

[SunkenCiv]

I propose either:

Brown's Planet

or

Mike's.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1453462/posts?page=82#82

[My2Cents]

My Very Extravagent Mother Just Spent Uncle Ned's Pay. You're right; there's no room for a tenth planet.

[theDentist]

They'll have to start re-writing the Astrology books too!

[SunkenCiv]

Uh-oh, you're right, that spells trouble! ;')

"King Philip Came Over From Greater Saxony" doesn't work as well either, since the addition of domains...