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]

Tanks. I don’t think there’s US Mail today.

[Monkey Face]

Back from my running. Stopped at Smith’s to get another six pack, and they are all out of the Pilsner! They will have some in tomorrow. I will go to Albertson’s in the early morning to see if they have it, as that store is about a mile closer.

In other news, one of the residents has been narcing. It’s what he does and has done for years. We have two drug dealers in here, and this guy is concerned that they may be putting all the old folks in jeopardy. And we are in jeopardy, as one of the dealers keeps brandishing a gun.

At any rate, why he chose me to confide in is beyond me, but I told him I not only knew how to keep my mouth shut, but that I had spent several months one year doing the same thing, and as far as I know, there is still a contract out on me. But the neighborhood I lived in is relatively drug free and is now a place for oldsters. :o]

Never a dull moment around here, she says. And no, there is no mail delivery today. Kids are in school, but no mail. Go figger...

[Monkey Face]

Ohnoes, Nully! As me dear sainted mither would say, “If it ain’t one darn thing, it’s two darn things!” And she was almost always right.

That’s ugly about the dishwasher and the fridge. Get a cooler, fill it with ice and get a couple of six packs of Modelo Negro! *hug*

It won’t fix the problems, but it will fix your perspective on them.

[Tax-chick]

Same here, and oh dear! Stay low!

I need to go to Walmart again.

[NoCmpromiz]

Since the cat food cans are now all pull-tab, the felines equate the can opener with ‘annoying noise’ and ignore it. The cat summoning device is called a ‘torch’ on Moosie’s side of the salty pond but we know it as a flashlight. It is utilized when one or more of the in-outdoor felines has not appeared after the glowing orb has slithered into the western sea. Or behind the mountain.

When engaged in the find-the-feline routine the summoning device is swept over the various fields, into the across-the-street neighbor’s area (the felines often hide under his truck), down the ditch-line (a favorite hunting area), up on the roof of the ‘Florida Room’ - a former porch that has been enclosed - where two of the three in-outdoor felines sequester themselves by climbing the lilac tree that is at the southwest corner, into one or more of the outbuildings and into the was-a-pond-before-the-dam-was-compromised-but-is-still-very-wet section, into the ‘rose and other growing things’ plot, down the western tree-property line, onto the front and east side porches, under our cars, into the was-a-barn, into my shed-in-a-box where the New Red Riding Thing, the Olde Deere, and the two walkbehind mowingthings reside (paw prints on the seat of Red Riding Thing attest to that location as being a hidy-hole), and now that the corn has been picked, to the far remoteness of the northern field.

If hunting has been meager usually very early in the search routine I spy glowing eyeballs heading in my general direction because they know that means food awaits them indoors. Other times, especially under full lunacy, er, moon conditions they develop a stubborn streak and don’t respond. Or I will see the eyes but they will ignore or go off in the opposite direction.

Usually (but not always) two of the three show up right away or shortly thereafter. The Smudge is not as eager to come in (she is/was after all a feral who we didn’t entice into the house-cat world until after she had her litter of two) and she is usually the one who requires more than one summoning. It is during the times that the coy-o-tays are howling and the feline(s) are being stubborn that it gets worrisome..

[Tax-chick]

Thank you, that’s very informative.

[moose07]

Have you tried a bell?
Or would their majestys find this demeaning.

[Monkey Face]

Will wonders never cease? The outgoing mail was picked up, so the recipe for Salisbury steak is on it’s way to you.

I won’t go to Walmart for a few days or more, but I need to call for a refill on my steroid, as I just opened the next to last packet of five vials.

And on Friday, I will call to get a new prescription for the pain pill, so I can go get it on Tuesday or Wednesday.

For some reason, I really wanted that Pils today; maybe because they were out of it... :o|

[Tax-chick]

Oh, nice! Naptime was unsuccessful. I’ve got a plan for Cub Scouts, and next I’m going to walk around the block a few times because I’m feeling agitated. I’ll have to get my uniform on in about an hour.

[NoCmpromiz]

Mouse, eh? (Can't help with cloned Roombas or fridges..)

Well, get them a nice motel. They can check in for a long nap..

Although the manufacturer recommends peanut butter (which DOES work) experience has shown that the oil in the pb eventually coats the electrodes and collects gook (I use bits of stale bread, or the current version - stale cookies because crumbs are easier to clean than peanut oil). This collecting gook creates a conductive path between plates and the resultant lightning display/buzzzzzz sound. Once that happens it is difficult to correct requiring multiple sprays with electronic parts cleaner, some scraping of the arc path to disrupt the conductivity of charred plastic, and a coating of liquid electrical tape or the equally suitable substitute available from most females called 'fingernail polish' - although they may not appreciate you using their nail polish brush to apply the substitute liquid electrical tape to your rodent motel.

They are extremely effective in providing a resting place for rodents. I usually find it difficult to awaken the sleeping guest (actually, I have never been able to awaken one after they have checked in, their sleep is so sound) so I am forced to evict them. I do so in one of two ways. Either I furnish them with a nice sleeping spot in my garden where I cover them snugly with a warming layer of dirt, or the easier method requiring fewer steps, I supply them with an eternal membership in our underground swimming pool - their entrance to the pool is preceded by a flushing sound.

The one drawback occurs should you forget to monitor for tenant check-in and the sleeping rodent gets over-ripe..

If you find you have been blessed with the larger version of rodent they make a suitably sized motel for them also. It works for chipmunk housing as well (a piece of walnut salvaged from the batch of brownies works well as an enticement)..

[Monkey Face]

Well, chillrun, my eyelids are trying to slam shut as I sit here, so I’m going to go get parallel to the deck and do something quiet until morning.

That’s when the next exciting episode of the Troubles of Miss ‘Face, or Oh, My! What More Could Go Wrong?

Stay tuned!

[NicknamedBob]

"... and the refrigerator went Tango Uniform, the freezer is fine, but the refrigerator portion is room temp."

Before you write it off entirely, some models get their coolness from the freezer section, but the path may get clogged. The usual clogging material from the freezer section to the refrigerator section is ... ice.

So one possibility is to remove what can be salvaged to a place it can be salvaged, and then completely defrost the unit. Make sure it has had time to completely defrost, even inside its inner innards, and then power it back up.

Keeping your fingers crossed at the same time is optional.

[NoCmpromiz]

The usual clogging material from the freezer section to the refrigerator section is ... ice.

And the usual causal affect of ice buildup in 'frost free' refrigerators is a failure of the defrost timer or defrost control module (depending on vintage). The 'timer' is just that, a clock motor timer with one or more form 'C' contacts which is relatively cheap. The 'defrost control module' is of course modern super duper electronics and costs exponentially more. If you defrost it as NNB suggested and it cools the entire unit look into replacing that timer/module.

A possible secondary cause of ice buildup is a non-functioning fan that, if working, moves cold air from the freezer section into the refrigerator section. Ice will block the airflow path. A nonfunctioning fan just won't have any airflow. Either way no cold air gets to the refrig compartment.

If you're lucky there will be a schematic plastered on the back of the unit, usually obscured by the condenser coils.. ;-) Depending on how it is wired it is possible to 'jump' the defrost heaters to be on and melt the ice out that way. Of course this is a temporary for-troubleshooting-only technique. Also if it is an older unit with the timer it is possible to manually turn the works until the contact makes to turn on the defrost heat tapes. Of course if you do that you need to remember to crank it past that point again after it defrosts or the compressor will not turn back on..

[Tax-chick]

Our refrigerator got better when we turned it all off for 48 hours in the summer. Thawed out the whole innards.

I just brought my husband to the ER. He has something up with his heart. They’re doing an EKG.

[NoCmpromiz]

You’ve got mail.

[Tax-chick]

Saw it thanks. An admin employee is here now.

[Tax-chick]

Xray was done. Bp rather high, 164/89. They will run blood chemistry, etc., probably refer to a cardiologist.

[Tax-chick]

Xray was done. Bp rather high, 164/89. They will run blood chemistry, etc., probably refer to a cardiologist.

[Tax-chick]

Darn phone. Please thank your church for their concern. It is very kind.

[Tax-chick]

They aren’t finding anything wrong. They want him to see a cardiologist in a day or two. More in the morning when I have a keyboard. Thanks again.