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.

[NoCmpromiz]

Well, there IS that..

But if it was sufficiently cold..

[Tax-chick]

You can’t count on its being cold enough to overcome the rot.

[NoCmpromiz]

Encapsulated in plastic as to be effective only if the membrane was breached?

Added plus that the putrescent pork products could be saved for future jihad-proofing missions (provided of course that the encapsulating membrane was sufficiently non-permeable.. ;-)

(Not ALL of Dark’s ideas are original.)

[Tax-chick]

All Darksheare’s ideas are useful, though. He understands gravity.

[Darksheare]

Please note: I was NOT the one who detonated/conflagrated the compost pit.
That was #1 son.
Any semblance to jihad proofing was coincidental.
(Though the neighbors son falling into the compost pit was pretty funny.)

[Tax-chick]

Of course, that never crossed my mind.

[NoCmpromiz]

neighbors son falling into the compost pit

If he was not a midnight-skulking voyeur he wouldn't have been in the vicinity of the compost pit under cover of darkness.

I thought it was fitting.

[Tax-chick]

Yeah, sure. What one expects.

[Darksheare]

The hand, knee, and faceprint in the gelatinous goo pile in the compost pit was a nice touch.

[NicknamedBob]

"The hand, knee, and faceprint in the gelatinous goo pile in the compost pit was a nice touch."

Seeing Darksheare posting here is like a breath of fresh air.

[Monkey Face]

Wow. The Night Shift has so much fun!

Hiya, Darks! You’ve been missed. (Perhaps we should all take beeter aim...)

[I’m really missing summer, is what I’m missing.]

[Monkey Face]

take beeter better aim... There, I fixed it myself.

I'd better wake up before I damage myself.

[Monkey Face]

The cold! It makes my brain freeze and I become stupid! Argh! The stupid — it hurts!

[NicknamedBob]

7333. Re: beeter/better, beeber/beeper. Our lexicon of misspelled words is beginning to rival the popularity of the island of misfit toys.

[Tax-chick]

[ArGee]

Sand.

I suppose that’s appropriate in a way.

[ArGee]

(nyup nyup nyup) Morning. Time for coffee and to wrestle with my bed head.

[NicknamedBob]

As long as it isn’t imported.

[Tax-chick]

Good morning, guys. It’s Friday here. The cats and dragons have Sunbeam. The people are going to the gym.

[Monkey Face]

Awww...squee!

I need that, this morning. I seem to have contracted not only The Stupids, but The Slows, as well. Someone, please, help me! :o0