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 ...
I’m glad it all went well for everyone!
And now, I’m off to bed to warm up!
If they are snowed in, you won’t hear them.... :)
Tarantulas, he said.
Hope you have a good night! It’s almost dark here already. I’m thinking about wine.
Sure. And in honor of Mr. Moose and his successful ventures, you could practice the Bell Song.
Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, “Throw cares away!”
or in Spanish,
“Campana sobre campana, y sobre campana una. Asomate a la ventana, versa al nino en la cuna. Belen, campanas de Belen! Que los angeles tocan, que nuevas me traen.”
Yeah, I believe it.
Or Batman....
OK. Now I’m going to have that song phrase as an ear worm all day. Thanks, NoC. *NOT!*
Is this the Kitteh Ping for today?
29 degrees, SE @ 2 mph, 35%, clear *shiver*
One would never know this was desert, but for the absence of snow in the valley...
Today's kitten is late because I was asleep.
I had a fairly good night, but got up cold. And I’d think about wine, but I probably need to wait until the ulcers are under control. (I will be so very glad when I leave this state!)
Yesterday was one of my more productive days, but my vacuum is not picking up the dirt like it should. It was old when I got it, so I’m surprised that it has lasted this long. At any rate, vacuuming is going to get harder and harder, and I’ll end up trying to sweep the rug, which is going to cripple me for life, I’m sure.
Still, all the jobs I had on my list for before I left have been done, so I can concentrate on just making sure I have it all together.
You? Got to sleep in??? *gasp* What a novel idea!
It was bizarre, to be sure. I woke up about 4:30 because Jake was trying to get in the room. I shut my alarm off, having no particular reason to get up at 5:15, and the next thing I knew it was 6:40. I thought about getting up before the coffee pot turned off at 7:00, but I didn’t, so when I came down at 7:30, the coffee was cold, DP having skipped the part where one turns it off and on again to have it stay on. Then I had all the dishes to do and the cats to feed and the laundry, etc.
It’s pretty warm here, supposed to be in the upper 60s later.
Gravity is high today. Everyone is dropping things and making a mess on the floor.
I’ve been to open the clubhouse, and had my shower and breathing treatment, so I’m good. I’d go to Walmart if I had any reason to, but it’s 25 degrees at the local airport, and even after all that moaning last year about cold hands, I never did by any gloves. The steering wheel is just as cold this year if not moreso than last year.
As I was walking to and from the clubhouse, I could hear the individual leaves falling from the upper branches, through the lower branches and then to the ground. It was interesting, and I would have stayed and listened to those lonely little sounds but it was just too stinking cold!
I hate when gravity is high. It interferes with my brain, because it makes me think I’m just clumsy.
I’m going to have a shower before I get dressed for church.
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