Well I'll be Damned...
From the Boston Herald:
10th planet discovered past Pluto
By O'Ryan Johnson
Ten billion miles from the sun, you can hear a school textbook editor screaming.
About a month before students return to class, astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced yesterday the discovery of a 10th planet, which means Pluto, the icy, forgotten stepchild of the solar system, has a big baby brother.
The new planet is 1 1/2 the size of its closest neighbor and is the first planet discovered since 1930, but doesn't have a name yet.
The planet's discoverer, Mike Brown, told the Herald last night he submitted a name - which he would not disclose - to the International Astronomical Union, which is deliberating it. Until then, the planet is called 2003UB313.
10th planet discovered past Pluto
By O'Ryan Johnson
Ten billion miles from the sun, you can hear a school textbook editor screaming.
About a month before students return to class, astronomers at the California Institute of Technology announced yesterday the discovery of a 10th planet, which means Pluto, the icy, forgotten stepchild of the solar system, has a big baby brother.
The new planet is 1 1/2 the size of its closest neighbor and is the first planet discovered since 1930, but doesn't have a name yet.
The planet's discoverer, Mike Brown, told the Herald last night he submitted a name - which he would not disclose - to the International Astronomical Union, which is deliberating it. Until then, the planet is called 2003UB313.
posted by littledevilworks at 11:11 PM
2 Comments:
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I was reading a somewhat off-the-wall article at Barnes and Noble (in a magazine whose name I cannot recollect to include here) about some people who think there could be over twice as many planets in the solar system as we're currently aware of. News like this may get their hopes up. Whether those others are right or not, this is still pretty interesting news. It's kind of surprising that it's taken 75 years to find another one, given what else we're able to see out there!
- Closet astronomer
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