10th Planet Discovered!

愛 · 08-01-2005, 10:56 AM

It is a tiny white dot even in the most powerful telescopes, but a dot that moves, albeit slowly, against the background of distant stars.

That means it must be a planet, so now object 2003UB313, spotted two years ago by astronomers in California, has been officially identified as the 10th planet in the solar system, and tentatively christened Xena.

The body is believed to be about 1,700 miles in diameter, about a quarter the size of the Earth, and about one-and-a-half times the size of Pluto, the ninth and last planet to be discovered, in 1930.

But at nearly 10 billion miles out, Xena is the most distant object detected orbiting the Sun, three times as far out as Pluto and 97 times as far out as the Earth. Its full orbit takes 560 years.

Like many other new wonders, Xena has emerged from California, having been discovered by astronomers at the Mount Palomar observatory near San Diego run by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Michael Brown, Caltech's professor of planetary astronomy, and his colleagues Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University, first photographed it on 31 October 2003, with the 48in Samuel Oschin telescope, normally used to track asteroids that might pose a collision danger with the Earth.

But it was so far away its motion was not detected until data was reanalysed in January. At present, Xena is near its farthest point from Earth, but in about 280 years, it will be as close as Neptune, (the eighth planet, discovered in 1846).

It has taken scientists this long to discover it because its orbit is tilted at a 45-degree angle to the orbital plane of the other planets. Xena is believed to be part of the Kuiper Belt, a great band of icy objects beyond Neptune, that are believed to be remnants of the material that formed the solar system.

"This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system," Professor Brown said, adding that although its exact size was yet to be determined, it was "definitely bigger than Pluto".

The new planet was rocky and icy, similar to Pluto, he said, and so far away an observer standing on its surface could cover the view of the sun with the head of a pin, although it was sufficiently bright for amateur astronomers to track it in the early-morning sky.

The astronomers have submitted their name for it - from the warrior princess in the 1990s TV series - to the International Astronomical Union and are confident it will be designated a planet, although the procedure for approval is somewhat hazy because no new bodies have received that designation since Pluto was found 75 years ago, Professor Brown said. "We hope it's fairly non-controversial among those who believe Pluto is a planet," he said. "I would say, 'Get out your pens and start rewriting the textbooks today'."

In classical times, before the invention of the telescope by Galileo in 1610, the solar system consisted of the Sun and just six planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

In 1781, the German musician-turned astronomer William Herschel, working in Britain, discovered Uranus, using a telescope he made himself.

Source

________________________________________________

Whoa. Whoa.

**Machias Banshee** · 08-01-2005, 10:59 AM

Astounding. I can just hear NASA already planning to check it out...

*The Stryker* · 08-01-2005, 11:06 AM

Its the Planet Omicron Perseai 8!

*Deathknight* · 08-01-2005, 11:15 AM

I thought Pluto was De-classified as a planet. Interesting though, a new planet.

*Anarky* · 08-01-2005, 11:36 AM

Xena? I thought the planet was called Sedna, after the Inuit Goddess of the sea.

But hey, I don't really care, since this is not exactly useful for earth at this point.

Raphael29 · 08-01-2005, 12:29 PM

Wow, that's amazing, it'l be interesting to see if Xena is actually designated as a planet.

**Jester** · 08-01-2005, 12:58 PM

Vulcan....

It's Vulcan....

hazlov2004 · 08-01-2005, 01:19 PM

they are gonna keep finding some more right?

*Anarky* · 08-01-2005, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazlov2004

they are gonna keep finding some more right?

Probably not. Not yet. I mean, they can hardly see Sedna/Xena and telescopes have yet to evolve some more until they can actually get a clear visual of any of the further planets. Also, our solar system seems rather finished after Xena/Sedna. However, they have already found planets of other solar systems.

But there has always been a theory about a planet on the same lane as Earth, but just being always behind the sun from us.

Gene Roddenberry picked up the idea in his "Andromeda" series, where the Nietzscheans came from said planet.

*Mecha Cow* · 08-01-2005, 01:51 PM

Whoa, that's cool. It's almost somewhat scary to think that there are still things left to be discovered in this day and age.

*Hannah* · 08-01-2005, 03:49 PM

Awesome! ^_^ This means new books for science! XD

~~Turtledude2k3~~ · 08-01-2005, 04:12 PM

I think I remember my science teacher talking baout this when I was in high school how we named it planet X.. I am talking about that same planet.. It is after Pluto.

It's old news to me but it's good they caleld it Xena.. I wished it was called Meteos!!!

*XERO* · 08-01-2005, 08:07 PM

Xena: Warrior Planet.

Ra · 08-02-2005, 12:16 AM

Now I'm gonna think of Xena whenever we are going to do astromany. And that's next term!

Wow though, a new planet. Has anyone seen any little green men on it yet?

08-02-2005, 02:55 AM

I guess this means that the 13th Zodiac now has a planet to be associated with.

*damnhooligan* · 08-02-2005, 03:26 AM

If they find moons in orbit around Xena, the people must demand they be named Gabrielle, Joxer and Autolycus.

Also, I'm kinda miffed that they chose Xena for a Kuiper Belt planet when they had such awesome and prominent Roman mythological names as Quirinus, Fortuna and Minerva left unclaimed. We had a theme goin, people! It was cute! Stick with it!

08-02-2005, 03:44 AM

I totally agree, Damnhooligan!

Argh! Damn you, pop culture! *waves fist*

*Voltron* · 08-02-2005, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by damnhooligan

If they find moons in orbit around Xena, the people must demand they be named Gabrielle, Joxer and Autolycus.

Also, I'm kinda miffed that they chose Xena for a Kuiper Belt planet when they had such awesome and prominent Roman mythological names as Quirinus, Fortuna and Minerva left unclaimed. We had a theme goin, people! It was cute! Stick with it!

They're already theorizing that there's plenty more where this came from. Possibly even larger planets, similar in size to Mars or even Earth. The Kupier belt is a big place...filled with lots of planet destroying asteroids and planetoids...

Also, Pluto is widely accepted as a planet, and has never been declassified, though some beg to argue.

Blah blah blah blah sciency mumbo jumbo.

*Tetsu Deinonychus* · 08-05-2005, 05:57 PM

I also think it's a CROCK that they're naming it after a stupid TV show instead of a Roman God. I hope they change it when it gets officially classified as a planet.

**ThirdMarioBro** · 08-07-2005, 05:37 PM

Agreed. Naming it after a TV show is plain stupid. No one will know what they hell Xena is in 50 years, nor will they give a flying fu*k either. They will care about the planet though and by then we should be able to see it. It should be named after something important or historical relevance.

08-01-2005, 10:56 AM	#1
愛 Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 7,449	10th Planet Discovered! It is a tiny white dot even in the most powerful telescopes, but a dot that moves, albeit slowly, against the background of distant stars. That means it must be a planet, so now object 2003UB313, spotted two years ago by astronomers in California, has been officially identified as the 10th planet in the solar system, and tentatively christened Xena. The body is believed to be about 1,700 miles in diameter, about a quarter the size of the Earth, and about one-and-a-half times the size of Pluto, the ninth and last planet to be discovered, in 1930. But at nearly 10 billion miles out, Xena is the most distant object detected orbiting the Sun, three times as far out as Pluto and 97 times as far out as the Earth. Its full orbit takes 560 years. Like many other new wonders, Xena has emerged from California, having been discovered by astronomers at the Mount Palomar observatory near San Diego run by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Michael Brown, Caltech's professor of planetary astronomy, and his colleagues Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University, first photographed it on 31 October 2003, with the 48in Samuel Oschin telescope, normally used to track asteroids that might pose a collision danger with the Earth. But it was so far away its motion was not detected until data was reanalysed in January. At present, Xena is near its farthest point from Earth, but in about 280 years, it will be as close as Neptune, (the eighth planet, discovered in 1846). It has taken scientists this long to discover it because its orbit is tilted at a 45-degree angle to the orbital plane of the other planets. Xena is believed to be part of the Kuiper Belt, a great band of icy objects beyond Neptune, that are believed to be remnants of the material that formed the solar system. "This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system," Professor Brown said, adding that although its exact size was yet to be determined, it was "definitely bigger than Pluto". The new planet was rocky and icy, similar to Pluto, he said, and so far away an observer standing on its surface could cover the view of the sun with the head of a pin, although it was sufficiently bright for amateur astronomers to track it in the early-morning sky. The astronomers have submitted their name for it - from the warrior princess in the 1990s TV series - to the International Astronomical Union and are confident it will be designated a planet, although the procedure for approval is somewhat hazy because no new bodies have received that designation since Pluto was found 75 years ago, Professor Brown said. "We hope it's fairly non-controversial among those who believe Pluto is a planet," he said. "I would say, 'Get out your pens and start rewriting the textbooks today'." In classical times, before the invention of the telescope by Galileo in 1610, the solar system consisted of the Sun and just six planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. In 1781, the German musician-turned astronomer William Herschel, working in Britain, discovered Uranus, using a telescope he made himself. Source ________________________________________________ Whoa. Whoa.

08-01-2005, 11:06 AM	#3
The Stryker Stupid Rich Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Room 237 Posts: 11,152	Its the Planet Omicron Perseai 8! __________________ @~<3 Mom~@

08-01-2005, 11:15 AM	#4
Deathknight Mad Scientist Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: One of the 972 rooms of the technodrome Posts: 1,995	I thought Pluto was De-classified as a planet. Interesting though, a new planet. __________________ Shredder: "Ninja hall of fame? Ha! Where's MY statue?!" -My Brother, the Bad Guy

08-01-2005, 11:36 AM	#5
Anarky Outlaw Hero Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Tannhauser Gate Posts: 4,867	Xena? I thought the planet was called Sedna, after the Inuit Goddess of the sea. But hey, I don't really care, since this is not exactly useful for earth at this point. __________________ Because it's... I dunno... brutal.

08-01-2005, 12:29 PM	#6
Raphael29 Thug Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 75	Wow, that's amazing, it'l be interesting to see if Xena is actually designated as a planet. __________________ Raphael29

08-01-2005, 10:59 AM	#2
Machias Banshee Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 17,163	Astounding. I can just hear NASA already planning to check it out...

08-01-2005, 12:58 PM	#7
Jester Rat-faced Dude-guy Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Arkansas Posts: 26,301	Vulcan.... It's Vulcan.... __________________ "Clearly, you're Ninja Turtling incorrectly." - Leo656

08-01-2005, 01:19 PM	#8
hazlov2004 Mad Scientist Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Conyers GA Posts: 1,272	they are gonna keep finding some more right? __________________ Im a silly and random person

08-01-2005, 01:51 PM	#10
Mecha Cow Gorgeous and modest too Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 3,699	Whoa, that's cool. It's almost somewhat scary to think that there are still things left to be discovered in this day and age. __________________

08-01-2005, 03:49 PM	#11
Hannah Once more, with feeling! Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 4,111	Awesome! ^_^ This means new books for science! XD __________________

08-01-2005, 04:12 PM	#12
~~Turtledude2k3~~ Banned Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Canada, BC Posts: 783	I think I remember my science teacher talking baout this when I was in high school how we named it planet X.. I am talking about that same planet.. It is after Pluto. It's old news to me but it's good they caleld it Xena.. I wished it was called Meteos!!!

08-01-2005, 08:07 PM	#13
XERO Hybrid Theorist Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Alamo City Posts: 8,185	Xena: Warrior Planet. __________________ "Travel at the speed of light... then hit the nitro!"

08-02-2005, 12:16 AM	#14
Ra It's my desire? Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In your pants. Posts: 4,441	Now I'm gonna think of Xena whenever we are going to do astromany. And that's next term! Wow though, a new planet. Has anyone seen any little green men on it yet? __________________ "So. The whole lot of you against little old me? How retarded."

08-02-2005, 02:55 AM	#15
Ryona Guest Posts: n/a	I guess this means that the 13th Zodiac now has a planet to be associated with.

08-02-2005, 03:26 AM	#16
damnhooligan Mad Scientist Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Dorksville, USA Posts: 1,745	If they find moons in orbit around Xena, the people must demand they be named Gabrielle, Joxer and Autolycus. Also, I'm kinda miffed that they chose Xena for a Kuiper Belt planet when they had such awesome and prominent Roman mythological names as Quirinus, Fortuna and Minerva left unclaimed. We had a theme goin, people! It was cute! Stick with it! __________________

08-02-2005, 03:44 AM	#17
Ryona Guest Posts: n/a	I totally agree, Damnhooligan! Argh! Damn you, pop culture! waves fist

08-05-2005, 05:57 PM	#19
Tetsu Deinonychus The Iron Dinosaur Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Studio Snowlion HQ Posts: 3,021	I also think it's a CROCK that they're naming it after a stupid TV show instead of a Roman God. I hope they change it when it gets officially classified as a planet. __________________ (Image hosting by Postimage.org) And here's a list of all my old wacky threads!

08-07-2005, 05:37 PM	#20
ThirdMarioBro Tea Time! Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 8,905	Agreed. Naming it after a TV show is plain stupid. No one will know what they hell Xena is in 50 years, nor will they give a flying fu*k either. They will care about the planet though and by then we should be able to see it. It should be named after something important or historical relevance. __________________