Friday, October 27, 2006

The "dwarf planet" formerly known as Xena


I seems like changing a name is very in right now. A Friend of mine Pap now is Aiden . Now Planet once called Xena now is "Eris"

Since its discovery last year, Eris, which had been known as 2003 UB313, ignited a debate about what constitutes a planet. .Some argued it should be welcomed as the 10th planet since it was larger than Pluto, but others felt Pluto was not a full-fledged planet

Last month astronomers shrink the solar system to eight planets, downgrading Pluto to a "dwarf planet," a category that also includes Eris and the asteroid Ceres.

In mythology, Eris caused a quarrel among goddesses that sparked the Trojan War. In real life, Eris forced scientists to define a planet that eventually led to Pluto getting the boot. Soon after Pluto's dismissal from the planet club, hundreds of scientists circulated a petition protesting the decision.

Eris' moon also received a formal name: Dysnomia, the daughter of Eris known as the spirit of lawlessness.

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