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.

[moose07]

I assure you that National Chocolate day is celebrated on a daily basis.
Today is National Kat Day.....another excuse to eat chocolate.
:)

[NoCmpromiz]

[moose07]

Could that be .....
It is! Chocolate! Banzai! :)

[moose07]

(I did get your joke. :) )

[Monkey Face]

I do that, every day...eat chocolate, that is. I keep a covered container of Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses in the fridge, and treat myself to two a day.

So every day is National Chocolate Day here. In fact, yesterday, Ethel M Chocolates just had their grand re-opening. But then, I didn’t think anyone would be interested. *kof-kof*

[Monkey Face]

The little bridge ends at a WALL?? Well, it’s pretty, anyway. Thanks!

[Monkey Face]

I love Cadbury! That company has some rather unusual ingredients for their chocolate bars. :o|

[Covenantor]

[moose07]

Morning Face.
The Bridge is an old disused packhorse bride.
Thankfully it wasn't totally demolished ,just the parapet removed.

[Tax-chick]

[Tax-chick]

I knew something was eating the fish out of the pond.

[Covenantor]

Ou est les carpe chinoise?

[Monkey Face]

Wow. It’s very beautiful. Perfect place for a picnic. ;o]

How are things with you, today? This afternoon?

[Monkey Face]

Well, there's a kitteh to wake one up! Wow! Those look like juniper bushes.

[Monkey Face]

Awww...

Scottish Fold? So squee!

[Tax-chick]

I think the ears are just because it’s a baby. Three weeks old, according the poster.

[Tax-chick]

They were tasty!

[Monkey Face]

http://channel16news.com/cabot-arkansas/orlando-bloom-had-this-to-say-about-the-residents-of-cabot-arkansas/

My son lives in this little town, and posted this on FB this morning.

[moose07]

The sun has hidden under a blanket.
They’re forecasting snow next week.

[Monkey Face]

We had snow on Mt Charleston with the storms of this last week, but since then, it’s just been cloudy and humid.

I really do want summer... :o|