Posted on 07/12/2016 8:03:24 AM PDT by 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.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
W00t! Only because I went to Walmart and put it up for grabs... ;o]
Are you working, today?
And is the department you work for working this weekend? (Which would explain your working on Saturday, I guess!)
DSNY works Saturdays normally picking up trash, but today they’re salting and plowing. Trash is sitting under a light dusting of snow. The preparations are re-building all plans to be snow plans instead of collection/cleaning plans, cancelling most time off, and putting people on 12 hour shifts.
I’m not working but I’m not out-and-about in this stuff. I’ll wait until it’s safer to walk.
I'm not outing and abouting today. That was yesterday's task.
Today I'm doing the chores that were also yesterday's tasks. But I'm also perusing the internet for a while. It's good to have a place that's like the eye of the hurricane while everything else is like the part of the hurricane that isn't the eye.
I’ve forgotten what it’s like to live in an area where snow plows were the norm in winter. Or plows and dump trucks with plows in the fronts and the bed full of coal dust instead of salt. (Not nearly as corrosive for streets, cars, plants and people as salting the roads is!)
Even though I have escaped having a transfusion this time around, the anemia is bad enough that I have no energy. Still I want to try and get something done before I leave. I mean, in addition to Monday’s laundry.
So I will attempt to vacuum the floors and mop what isn’t rug. And that should pretty well do me in for the rest of the weekend. :o|
If you don't mop what isn't rug, it all turns into rug. -- From the Bachelor's Guide to Housecleaning.
Which explains why I never read it...I've never been a bachelor.
It’s never been written. Bachelors, housecleaning?
There’s no market for it.
Ah. Yes. I see your point. ;o]
Are you snowed in, yet, Bob?
Overnight, our trees went from mostly yellow leaves to very few yellowish green leaves that may be gone by Monday. And I think they all shed their leaves into my patio. I have enough to fill a “lawn and leaf” bag. *sigh*
Mt Charleston has a beautiful dusting of snow, but I’m happy to look at it from here. ;o]
Nope. One of the local weathercasters said that our chances of having a White Christmas would be enhanced if there were already some snow on the ground.
Well, duh.
That was most entertaining.
The Single electric hammer real bell ringer now works.
But unfortunately the Damage in the Loud Speakers that blew the main fuse wiped out the power Amplifier. So no Automated ringing other than the hour/single bell.
Not going to be a cheap fix, you just know it.
The Tower isn’t man enough to take any more than one real bell.
It was cold up in that belfry. The Cold Fog was coming through the louvres.
A twenty metre steel ladder rising vertically in one corner of the tower takes you up to the floor of your choice. I hate heights.
“If you don’t mop what isn’t rug, it all turns into rug. “
Over population of Dust Bunnies!
I think ‘Cute’ should be designated as a breed on any occasion where it applies. :)
Well played !
“...would be enhanced if there were already some snow on the ground....”
That sounds like some of the weather prevaricators here. At least it would seem as if they are consistent, no matter who they work for.
I don’t like heights as much as you don’t, Moosie.
Belfries are often cold. And foggy. But I don’t think I’ve ever heard of any that were snowed in. ;o]
Yes, “Cute” is a universal designation. I like “cute.”
Bill the Son is safely graduated. The ceremony wasn’t bad - no boring speakers other than the University Chancellor saying what a nice (and ever larger) school it is. A young baritone, graduating with a music degree, did the National Anthem with the correct notes and no extraneous flourishes.
About 100 people from India with 20-syllable names got Masters degrees in Computer Science. I assume they work for banks.
Now OldTax-lady is standing by for her flight back to Orlando. Elen is at Waterfowl Rescue. Bill is going to the gym. Tom is leaving tonight for a few days out with his friends. I have choir at 7:00, if anyone comes, and if they don’t, DP and I will practice.
Congrats to Bill.
Amazing how much useful confidence a bit of paper can generate. :)
And employment opportunities.
I thought the audience should burst into a chant of “Get A Job! Get a Job!” at the end, but they didn’t. Tom thought one of the graduates should release some spiders.
Spiders.....
Something hairy with long legs...
Yeah, Golden opportunity for a little fun. :)
*Que the Benny Hill tune*
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