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.

[Monkey Face]

My weather beeber says it’s going to be rainy and ugly today. ‘Face is not happy.

I’m running late! Eeeeeeeaaaagh!

[ArGee]

Since it’s the last Friday of the year, give yourself a break and go ahead and walk late.

You deserve it.

[Tax-chick]

My alarm went off at 5:15 and said, “Unnngh,” and turned it off. Maybe I’ll get up tomorrow!

[ArGee]

An alarm clock that talks and turns itself off?

Cool.

[ArGee]

When I was in 8th grade I was jealous of some of the boys who had started growing facial hair but THIS???

[ArGee]

OK. I've clearly fallen behind on the latest parenting trends.

[Monkey Face]

Thanks. The Slows do that for me automatically.

I’m thinking I’ll never get warm. :o|

[Tax-chick]

Yes, it’s amazing!

[NicknamedBob]

At our present rapid-fire rate of posting on this thread, we are projected to again reach “the end of the internet” on January sixteenth ...

.

... 2021.

[Tax-chick]

[Tax-chick]

I think that, since we are about to cross the artificial boundary between one arbitrary chronological unit and the next, we should have a new thread.

[NicknamedBob]

“An excellent idea!”, he said, blinking.

[Monkey Face]

I think that, since we are about to cross the artificial boundary between one arbitrary chronological unit and the next, we should have a new thread.

I agree with that observation, and would add, "We're about 4,000 posts beyond what we should be for comfort."

All in favor, signify by the uplifted hand.

[Tax-chick]

Maybe we could find a thread about gormless youths. That comes to mind because DP has gone to fetch Bill the Son at the airport ...

[Tax-chick]

*uplifted hand*

[Tax-chick]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3509529/posts

What about this nice thread about Irish moonshine?

[Monkey Face]

What a pretty calico! I love that coloring!

And so, another day begins on the UT. And my computer desk is falling apart. I don’t know why except that it was third-hand when I got it...

[NicknamedBob]

Seems innocent enough. Is that a criterion?

[Monkey Face]

That looks interesting. A little closer to home than the current digs! Let’s see what Darksheare thinks!

[Monkey Face]

*uplifted hand*

OK, that makes two; does anyone else want to agree?