New Dwarf Planet Discovered Far Beyond Pluto's Orbit

space.com ^ | 07/11/2016

[BenLurkin]

Pluto isn't quite as lonely as scientists had thought.

Astronomers have discovered another dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, the ring of icy objects beyond Neptune. But this newfound world, dubbed 2015 RR245, is much more distant than Pluto, orbiting the sun once every 700 Earth years, scientists said. (Pluto completes one lap around the sun every 248 Earth years.)

"The icy worlds beyond Neptune trace how the giant planets formed and then moved out from the sun," discovery team member Michele Bannister, of the University of Victoria in British Columbia, said in a statement. "They let us piece together the history of our solar system."

...

The exact size of 2015 RR245 is not yet known, but the researchers think it's about 435 miles (700 kilometers) wide. Pluto is the largest resident of the Kuiper Belt, with a diameter of 1,474 miles (2,371 km).

The research team first spotted 2015 RR245 in February of this year, while poring over images that the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii took in September 2015 as part of the ongoing Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS).

"There it was on the screen — this dot of light moving so slowly that it had to be at least twice as far as Neptune from the sun," Bannister said.

[Tax-chick]

I’m about to go lie down for a while. Last night I woke up around midnight because there was a mouse gnawing at the siding outside.

[Monkey Face]

Inconsiderate of that mouse! Get a good rest!

[NoCmpromiz]

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you! Upper kitty needs a tummy tickle!

[Silentgypsy]

Yikes!

[NicknamedBob]

I’m probably better at writing than I am at carpentry, as the wounds on my hands will attest.

But I’m slow at both.

[moose07]

Morning Kitty, Ping!

The Kitten will always get through!

[NoCmpromiz]

How to prepare Tofu:

Step 1. Throw it in the trash.
Step 2. Grill some Meat.

[Monkey Face]

Well. The Morning Kitty seems to be hiding in a little black box with a white square in it. Hmmm... where do I skritch that?

[Tax-chick]

Morning. I’m not seeing the kitteh either. However, there was a squirrel outside hassling the birds.

[Covenantor]

Agent F-007 prepares to hunt Paddington Bear for elimination.

[Monkey Face]

That looks suspiciously like Mrs Miniver...

[Monkey Face]

Did you sleep well, last night? The idea was to rest, I believe. ;o]

[Tax-chick]

Yes, I did, until after 7.

[Monkey Face]

Oh my! As the late Igor so often said, “Sometimes, a change is as good as a rest.”

[Tax-chick]

Sometimes! The most restful part is not having to speak.

[moose07]

That’s strange, Kittie has done a runner.
Will try again tomorrow, it is a cute pic too. :)

[moose07]

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