Dwarf Planet Eris

[#juan]

This is not exactly up to the minute news. Eris was discovered a few years ago but it has had a couple name changes that might have blurred the story a bit. I didn't pay too much attention at the time but in my mind, the news is that Eris is bigger than Pluto.


SPACE GEOSCIENCE ARTICLE
Eris: dwarf planet larger than Pluto
by MIKE BALDWIN

11.11.2006: A dwarf planet is a category of celestial bodies defined in a resolution passed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on August 24, 2006. Currently, there are three celestial bodies that have been redefined by the IAU as dwarf planets:
• UB313 (informally known as Xena, and now formally known as Eris)
• Pluto
• Ceres



Google Image Result for http://www.memphisgeology.org/images/eris.jpg

 

[#juan]

Eris was discovered by Mike Brown et al back in 2003 and has already suffered two name changes.

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/

 

[CDNBear]

That's cool Juan, thanx.

 

[#juan]

Interesting point came up when I was looking for data on this topic. Ceres, one of the three objects recently named Dwarf Planets, could have more fresh water than Earth.....Not water but fresh water.

 

[CDNBear]

Interesting point came up when I was looking for data on this topic. Ceres, one of the three objects recently named Dwarf Planets, could have more fresh water than Earth.....Not water but fresh water.

Seriously, I know we've had our differences, but I've followed your posts on astronomy for sometime and the information you've posted astounds me. Well over my head, but still amazing. Between the artist renditions and some of the photography you've posted. Simply amazing stuff.

I bought the boys a star chart a couple of years ago, when we were planning a big camping trip. It's like a big dial, you line up the date and hold it up and it tell you what you're looking at. I actually had a question I wanted to ask you a couple months ago, about a a bright celestial body easily visible here, that we couldn't find on the star chart. But I kept forgetting.

Anyways, thanx for all the great posts Juan.

 

[#juan]

Seriously, I know we've had our differences, but I've followed your posts on astronomy for sometime and the information you've posted astounds me. Well over my head, but still amazing. Between the artist renditions and some of the photography you've posted. Simply amazing stuff.

I bought the boys a star chart a couple of years ago, when we were planning a big camping trip. It's like a big dial, you line up the date and hold it up and it tell you what you're looking at. I actually had a question I wanted to ask you a couple months ago, about a a bright celestial body easily visible here, that we couldn't find on the star chart. But I kept forgetting.

Anyways, thanx for all the great posts Juan.

In the last couple months two planets have been prominent in our skies. Jupiter and Venus have recently been fairly bright and one of them is likely the culprit. The neat thing about Venus is that it can appear as a crescent just like our moon. While you can see Venus easily with the naked eye, a set of binoculars will bring out that kind of detail. Jupiter is out of our sky right now but when it was here you could quite easily see the four large moons with binoculars.

Right now Saturn is viewable in the west as soon as it gets dark. You might need binoculars to see the ring as it is very nearly edge on from our point of view.

 

[CDNBear]

In the last couple months two planets have been prominent in our skies. Jupiter and Venus have recently been fairly bright and one of them is likely the culprit. The neat thing about Venus is that it can appear as a crescent just like our moon. While you can see Venus easily with the naked eye, a set of binoculars will bring out that kind of detail. Jupiter is out of our sky right now but when it was here you could quite easily see the four large moons with binoculars.

Right now Saturn is viewable in the west as soon as it gets dark. You might need binoculars to see the ring as it is very nearly edge on from our point of view.

This was in the western sky, we have a telescope, but never seem to acknowledge that when we're looking at the skies at night. We're usually fishing or what not. So it always ends up being the last thing to get brought out.

One day we'll actually have to put some time on the thing. ;-)