Posted on 07/12/2016 8:03:24 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Pluto isn't quite as lonely as scientists had thought.
Astronomers have discovered another dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, the ring of icy objects beyond Neptune. But this newfound world, dubbed 2015 RR245, is much more distant than Pluto, orbiting the sun once every 700 Earth years, scientists said. (Pluto completes one lap around the sun every 248 Earth years.)
"The icy worlds beyond Neptune trace how the giant planets formed and then moved out from the sun," discovery team member Michele Bannister, of the University of Victoria in British Columbia, said in a statement. "They let us piece together the history of our solar system."
...
The exact size of 2015 RR245 is not yet known, but the researchers think it's about 435 miles (700 kilometers) wide. Pluto is the largest resident of the Kuiper Belt, with a diameter of 1,474 miles (2,371 km).
The research team first spotted 2015 RR245 in February of this year, while poring over images that the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii took in September 2015 as part of the ongoing Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS).
"There it was on the screen — this dot of light moving so slowly that it had to be at least twice as far as Neptune from the sun," Bannister said.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
W00t!
What a pretty kitteh! SQUEE!!!
Adorable, isn’t she?
Warm, damp morning here. It rained a little last night: Jake got wet. He’s gone off to one of his hidey-holes now.
Kathleen has her riding lesson after lunch, and then we have our Monday evening blitz of excessive activities.
I just got back from Wally’s where I got the party fixin’s and amazingly, they all fit in the fridge. So either I have a large fridge, or a small one with not much in it before 10 minutes ago.
The laundry is waiting to be hung up and I will do that as soon as I get back from opening the clubhouse. (I like doing the laundry so early, knowing no one else can some in!)
I really like calico cats, and never get tired of looking at them.
Cool this morning, again, 69, and the humidity is up a little, so it’s going to be ugly hanging clothes, even though it is indoors. I could take the drying racks outside, but I don’t want to get into the habit, with winter right around the corner.
Every time you talk about Kathleen’s riding lesson, I get a mental whiff of “horse.” And then I get homesick. :o|
I’m giving Jack the rescue dragon a bath while Sally cleans his cage. He hates us.
How does a distinguished, college-educated, older lady end up scrubbing a dragon’s tail with a toothbrush?
Dragonbaby hates me now. I also put tea tree oil on what seem to be mold spots.
Have arrived in the New Forest for the week.
The weather is supposed to be decidedly British for the next 24 hours, so there is only one thing for it....Carry on regardless.
The CellPhone signal here is twice the strength it is at home, wouldn’t think this is a National Park.
I’ll speed test it in a mo, just out of curiosity you understand. :)
46M down
26.4M up
I think a phone call to customer services may be in order next week.
That look says:
I’m about to have to take back my “stupidest thing of all time” award.”
Hoomins ... always plumbing the debts of imbecility ...
Hope you enjoy the New Forest! I’m going to go wash another dragon before lunch ... might was well get it over with. I should at least have a great costume and hairstyle for this role!
Wait. What? You’re scrubbing Jack the Rescue Dragon’s tail, but Dragonbaby hates you? I’m missing something. I just don’t know what it is.
But I’ve been breathing clean fumes for a while this morning, so anything can happen. And I just had a breathing treatment to make the clean smell smell better. ;o]
Zeke came by about an hour ago with $10 to contribute, so my share wasn’t quite as costly as I thought it would be. It appears I have enough left over to get quarters for more laundry. Which I will do on Saturday morning.
I live in an area where the cell phone reception is excellent. It helps to have an antennae farm on the hill behind us. ;o]
I’m waiting for the pics... Any time this week is good. I’ll be in the area for a while. ;o])
It would be hard to beat the Day of the Dead costume of yesteryear. And of course, you would need a cauldron for effect.
Good for Zeke. I can see why you would be confused: I ended up washing and disinfecting all three dragons.
Well. All three dragons are clean and smelling good, then? Good deal!
And how is Jack the Rescue Dragon adjusting? Besides the fact that he has an attitude problem?
I got quite a bit done, but except for the laundry, it was pretty much small stuff. And now, I have everything ready for taking the stuff to the ramada, including towels for helping to keep the heat in.
I’m so good!
Some people have all the luck.
Moose, thanks once more for the nudge to learn more of England's better bits, mentioned in the news and literature.
The interesting story behind the Rufus Stone. Mystery of whodunit lingering due to lack of eyewitness accounts. There must be a Zapruder tapestry as yet undiscovered, hidden somewhere revealing the true facts of his death.
Fascinating variety of landscapes there judging from my quick virtual romp through the photos. One spot very like the creek passing a few hundred yards from my home.
Dowles Brook. Trees a bit taller in my neck of the woods but very alike.
The horseback option you have sounds intriguing, more so than than the double decker safari bus.
Whatever the weather, it sounds like an enjoyable stay for you.
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