The 10th planet

[Powerdoc]

US astronomist have discovered a 10th planet, far, far away of the sun. A pluton like planet. a very cold and unfriendly place.

Her name is Sedna (the inuit goddess of the sea)

[Kickaha]

1700km across, even much smaller than Pluto.

I don't know if this is going to meet most people's definition of a 'planet'. ;)

OTOH, I'd have to see it's orbital characteristics before making a judgment on its status as a planet or Kuiper body. If it's roughly inline with the inner 8, then sure, call it a planet. If not, then call it a Kuiper body.

[Defiant]

Scientists: Most distant object in solar system found (http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/03/15/distant.object/index.html) (CNN)

http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/56749main2_sedna-art_220-165.jpg

Planet-Like Body Discovered at Fringes of Our Solar System (http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/planet_like_body.html)

Cool :)

[Powerdoc]

Defiant thanks for your link.

Kickaha you are right, indeed the same question of definition is also made for pluto. Pluto and Sedna : same struggle (we want to be considered planets, we want to be considered planets ....) :D

Anyway it's a long trip of 12 billions of kilometers.

[Luca]

I think this just shows that Pluto is one of many Kuiper Belt objects floating around. There are probably dozens, even hundreds of objects between 1000 and 2500 km across in the Kuiper Belt, and Pluto and Sedna just happen to be close enough to actually see. There are a few other objects out there (one called Quaoar is a bit over 1000 km across). I think the discovery of Sedna will help demote Pluto to the status of Kuiper Belt object.

I think people called asteroid Ceres a planet when it was first discovered, but as more and more asteroids were discovered in the same orbit, it was demoted. Then there is Mercury, which I think is a planet not because of its size but because it is one of the only objects in that area of space.

[shetline]

Originally posted by Defiant
Cool :)
Bah! What's cool about? Just more work for me... gotta go track down data for the series expansions needed calculate the coordinates of yet another damned planet, rework the code of my astronomy web site's Java applet... I say send a missile and blow the thing up so we don't have to worry about it. :mad: :D

[Powerdoc]

Originally posted by shetline
Bah! What's cool about? Just more work for me... gotta go track down data for the series expansions needed calculate the coordinates of yet another damned planet, rework the code of my astronomy web site's Java applet... I say send a missile and blow the thing up so we don't have to worry about it. :mad: :D

If you want to blow up that thing you have to calculate the coordiantes of this damned planet :p :D

[JimDreamworx]

And here I thought there was already one...

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/8148/hafernik.html

;)

[thegelding]

i say we pass a constitutional amendment banning calling this a planet...sure, we can give it a different name with the same rights of the other planets (90% are planets, 10% are "other"...ratios sound about right)...but there is something special and wholesome and correct about the other planets that doesn't fit with this planetoid....

g

[Wrong Robot]

So what does this mean for astrologers :lol:

[curiousuburb]

relative sizes for scale
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/56755main_sedna-comp-330-264.jpg

NASA TV is running interviews with Scientists who discovered it from 3-7pm EST today (in progress)

redder than anything in our system except mars, may have its own moon...
At an estimated size of three-fourths the size of Pluto, it is likely the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930.

might help justify the Pluto Kuiper Express mission that's been on/off for years

[edit: bbc's image has distance scale too ]
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39891000/gif/_39891622_sedna_info_416.gif

[Powerdoc]

Originally posted by Wrong Robot
So what does this mean for astrologers :lol:

It will be an excuse for all their false predictions. Our theory was right, but we did not have all the elements of the puzzle ... :D

[alcimedes]

(90% are planets, 10% are "other"...ratios sound about right)

make it 97% and 3% and it would be more accurate.

[Hassan i Sabbah]

It might have a moon. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3514594.stm)

[SilentEchoes]

Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah
It might have a moon.
So I have heard :D
Originally posted by curiousuburb
may have its own moon...

[Daver]

Who keeps picking the stupid names for these things? At least it's better than Quaoar.

[billybobsky]

Yes it should be called Billybobsky...

[curiousuburb]

Actually, during the interview feeds on NASA TV, the guy who headed the discovery team said they do get naming rights, "but you can't name it after yourself".

All of the Kuiper - Oort planetoids/bodies are likely to have names from Arctic Mythology (following the mythological trend started with most other celestial bodies)

IIRC, they said Sedra is the Inuit goddess of the water (and fishing?) and when they were considering mythological names, the story of Sedra best fit what they knew about this odd object.

Extra-Solar Planets are often unromantically named. Of the more than 100 found thus far, almost all are alphanumerically anonymous.

The star Epsilon Eridani (only 10LY away) contains a planet at one point named "c" (http://www.solstation.com/stars/eps-erid.htm)
All Trekkies know that Roddenberry long ago specified the Planet Vulcan orbits Epsilon Eridani. (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/epsilon_folo_000809.html)

bonus irony... the guy who found the planet fictionally home to Vulcans (earth's first contact)...
http://www.space.com/images/h_cochrane_vulcan_03.jpg
Cochran (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/epsilon_vulcan_000804.html) ;)

[Randycat99]

People- this is obviously just a giant "space egg". :rolleyes: What could possibly hatch from it? I dunno, but I bet it would kick some pretty serious ass, so don't go waking it up by cracking the shell with your damn 'speeriments! Obviously, it never hatched because it wandered so far away from the sun. Just let it sit out there latent in the cold, why don't ya?!

I mean, doesn't anyone ever remember how Godzilla came about? Somebody disturbed him from his slumber, no? Now we're talking about something who's babies are the size of small planets. JUST LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE, DAMNIT!... :err:


Anybody remember that space-based organism in ST TNG named Guntoo? That thing was bad-ass! I really related to it because it wanted to die since it was the last of its kind and it felt so alone. Plus the episode had Romulans in it, so this was one of my favorite. It's always cool when the Romulans are involved!

[SonOfSylvanus]

Originally posted by Randycat99
<Funnyness>

:lol: I don't know what you're talking about but its hilarious :D

[Crusader]

WOW!

I bet it's really friggin cold...

:smokey:

Dude... if there is a tenth planet... then... dude like everyone has been wrong about 9 planets... for, like, ever. So if.... our knowledge about things is wrong, then we are wrong... so... maybe we don't exist! :smokey:

[Randycat99]

Well, according to my post, it seems I was speaking of "space eggs". Now that I have opened the window and let all this darn smoke blow out, I don't understand the space egg thing, either. :( :???:

Say, what if there were more pothead astronomers? Do you think we would have more interesting space theories?

[Splinemodel]

Originally posted by Daver
Who keeps picking the stupid names for these things? At least it's better than Quaoar.

It's because you have to be politically correct now and draw names from multiple ethnic groups instead of relying on the established, sensiible practice of naming planets after Roman deities.

[Kickaha]

Actually, I thought naming a ball of crud that's -400F after the Inuit goddess that created the sea (dark) creatures of the Arctic (cold), rather freaking appropriate. :)

[Wrong Robot]

I like the name personally.

[agent302]

Wait wait wait a sec.

The name of the tenth planet is Rupert.

This is well established.