Nine Planets in the Solar System? Not No More...WE HAVE TEN! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Chelsea · 07-29-2005, 08:49 PM

http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...ew_planet.html

Astronomers have discovered a new planet in our solar system, a world larger than Pluto.

It is the first time an object so big has been found in our solar system since the discovery of Pluto 75 years ago.

The discovery, announced today by Mike Brown of Caltech, came just hours after another newfound object, one slightly smaller than Pluto, was announced.

The new planet, temporarily named 2003 UB313, is about three times as far from the Sun as is Pluto.

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is professor of planetary astronomy. The object could be up to twice as large as Pluto, Brown told reporters in a hastily called teleconference Friday evening.

It was found using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory.

The object is highly inclined to the main plane of the solar system, where most of the other planets orbit. Some astronomers may view it as a Kuiper Belt Object and not a planet. Pluto itself is called a Kuiper Belt Object by many astronomers.

"Pluto has been a planet for so long that the world is comfortable with that," Brown said in the teleconference. "It seems to me a logical extension that anything bigger than Pluto and farther out is a planet."

The assertion is one that several astronomers have dreamed of making in recent years as a bevy of objects roughly half the size of Pluto have been found.

The new world is about 97 astronomical units from the Sun. An astronomical unit is the distance between the Sun and Earth. The new planet becomes the farthest-known object in the solar system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

Backyard astronomers with large telescopes may be able to spot the planet No. 10.

"It will be visible over the next six months and is currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in the constellation Cetus," says Brown, who made the discovery with colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, on Jan. 8.

The team had hoped to analyze the data further before announcing the planet but were forced to do so Friday evening because word had leaked out, Brown said.

Brown and Trujillo first photographed the new planet with the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on Oct. 31, 2003. However, the object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months, the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its size and its motions.

Scientists infer the size of a solar-system object by its brightness and distance. The reflectiveness of the new planet is not known, however, which is why the estimate of it's diameter ranges from one to two times the size of Pluto. But those constraints are well supported by the data, Brown said.

"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size. But we are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than Pluto ever found in the outer solar system."

The upper size limit is constrained by results from the Spitzer Space Telescope, which records heat in the form of infrared light. Because the Spitzer can't detect the new planet, the overall diameter must be less twice Pluto's size, Brown said.

Brown and his colleagues have proposed a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of this body before announcing the name.

Hollow · 07-29-2005, 08:57 PM

MAYBE THA ASTROMONONERS JUS UNKNOWINGINGLY HAD A LIL BALL ATTACHED 2 THA TELESCOPE AND THEY THOT IS WAS A PLANET.

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 07-29-2005, 09:02 PM

Seriously?!?! That's effing awesome...[/spacenerd] Ahah, I seriously have this whole space encyclopedia I just started reading.

Chad22 · 07-29-2005, 09:18 PM

Awesome News!

Tuesday Weld · 07-29-2005, 09:22 PM

Wow!

Nighthawk76 · 07-29-2005, 09:22 PM

This is really cool news.

EmoJoe · 07-29-2005, 09:41 PM

Cool

Rhiannon · 07-29-2005, 09:47 PM

thumbs up

Brent88 · 07-29-2005, 10:02 PM

There goes the

"My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" to remember the planet names.

TJL · 07-29-2005, 10:08 PM

Do you think they'll have a contest to come up with a name?

Better yet, some corporation will pay money to name it!

"Planet iPod"

I like that...

Fleet · 07-29-2005, 10:12 PM

Amazing.
I used to read a lot of Astronomy books back in the 1970s, and some of them speculated that there may be another planet orbiting past Pluto. It looks like they are right! I wonder if this planet has rings like the "giant" planets do (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).

Hey, maybe this is the planet that "Kang" and "Kodos" (of the Simpsons) are from.

Fleet · 07-29-2005, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TJL

Do you think they'll have a contest to come up with a name?

Better yet, some corporation will pay money to name it!

"Planet iPod"

I like that...

I think it should be called "Aldarin" or "Tatoonie."
Or, even better, "Vulcan."

barwars · 07-29-2005, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleet

I think it should be called "Aldarin"

Ohh great, so now it's doomed to be exploded.

barwars · 07-29-2005, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent88

There goes the

"My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" to remember the planet names.

I always thought it was....
My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine Planets

TJL · 07-29-2005, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fleet

I think it should be called "Aldarin" or "Tatoonie."
Or, even better, "Vulcan."

George Lucas probably would go along with it..

Majel Barrett Roddenberry? She'd sue..

07-29-2005, 08:49 PM	#1
Chelsea Semi-retired Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 07, 2001 Location: Washington Posts: 5,727	Nine Planets in the Solar System? Not No More...WE HAVE TEN! http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...ew_planet.html Astronomers have discovered a new planet in our solar system, a world larger than Pluto. It is the first time an object so big has been found in our solar system since the discovery of Pluto 75 years ago. The discovery, announced today by Mike Brown of Caltech, came just hours after another newfound object, one slightly smaller than Pluto, was announced. The new planet, temporarily named 2003 UB313, is about three times as far from the Sun as is Pluto. "It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is professor of planetary astronomy. The object could be up to twice as large as Pluto, Brown told reporters in a hastily called teleconference Friday evening. It was found using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory. The object is highly inclined to the main plane of the solar system, where most of the other planets orbit. Some astronomers may view it as a Kuiper Belt Object and not a planet. Pluto itself is called a Kuiper Belt Object by many astronomers. "Pluto has been a planet for so long that the world is comfortable with that," Brown said in the teleconference. "It seems to me a logical extension that anything bigger than Pluto and farther out is a planet." The assertion is one that several astronomers have dreamed of making in recent years as a bevy of objects roughly half the size of Pluto have been found. The new world is about 97 astronomical units from the Sun. An astronomical unit is the distance between the Sun and Earth. The new planet becomes the farthest-known object in the solar system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects. Backyard astronomers with large telescopes may be able to spot the planet No. 10. "It will be visible over the next six months and is currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in the constellation Cetus," says Brown, who made the discovery with colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, on Jan. 8. The team had hoped to analyze the data further before announcing the planet but were forced to do so Friday evening because word had leaked out, Brown said. Brown and Trujillo first photographed the new planet with the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on Oct. 31, 2003. However, the object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months, the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its size and its motions. Scientists infer the size of a solar-system object by its brightness and distance. The reflectiveness of the new planet is not known, however, which is why the estimate of it's diameter ranges from one to two times the size of Pluto. But those constraints are well supported by the data, Brown said. "Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size. But we are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than Pluto ever found in the outer solar system." The upper size limit is constrained by results from the Spitzer Space Telescope, which records heat in the form of infrared light. Because the Spitzer can't detect the new planet, the overall diameter must be less twice Pluto's size, Brown said. Brown and his colleagues have proposed a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of this body before announcing the name.
	__________________ Chelsea Former Administrator, 2005-2012 Former Member, DVD Review Team, 2004-2010.

07-29-2005, 09:02 PM	#3
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	Seriously?!?! That's effing awesome...[/spacenerd] Ahah, I seriously have this whole space encyclopedia I just started reading.
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07-29-2005, 09:22 PM	#5
Tuesday Weld I missed you all. hugs Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 02, 2003 Location: Having a great time. Posts: 22,285	Wow!
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07-29-2005, 09:41 PM	#7
EmoJoe Cool cool cool Forum Addict Join Date: Apr 23, 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 71,478	Cool
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07-29-2005, 09:47 PM	#8
Rhiannon oh, snap! Forum Fanatic Join Date: Jul 19, 2002 Location: middle of nowhere Posts: 11,097	thumbs up
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07-29-2005, 08:57 PM	#2
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	MAYBE THA ASTROMONONERS JUS UNKNOWINGINGLY HAD A LIL BALL ATTACHED 2 THA TELESCOPE AND THEY THOT IS WAS A PLANET.

07-29-2005, 09:18 PM	#4
Chad22 Captain Juke N Jive Moderator Forum Addict Join Date: Nov 23, 2002 Location: Caribou, Maine Posts: 71,662	Awesome News!

07-29-2005, 09:22 PM	#6
Nighthawk76 Rachel Berry Forum Celebrity Join Date: Feb 28, 2003 Location: Illinois Posts: 23,254	This is really cool news.

07-29-2005, 10:02 PM	#9
Brent88 Member Forum Star Join Date: Aug 01, 2003 Location: Alabama Posts: 16,174	There goes the "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" to remember the planet names.
	__________________ Brent

07-29-2005, 10:08 PM	#10
TJL Suburbanite Extrordinaire Forum Star Join Date: Dec 29, 2001 Location: New Jersey - the cradle of civilization Posts: 16,588	Do you think they'll have a contest to come up with a name? Better yet, some corporation will pay money to name it! "Planet iPod" I like that...
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07-29-2005, 10:12 PM	#11
Fleet Mansions, limousines & H-ween Forum Star Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: Northridge/Porter Ranch, California Posts: 15,625	Amazing. I used to read a lot of Astronomy books back in the 1970s, and some of them speculated that there may be another planet orbiting past Pluto. It looks like they are right! I wonder if this planet has rings like the "giant" planets do (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Hey, maybe this is the planet that "Kang" and "Kodos" (of the Simpsons) are from.
	__________________ 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine.