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Largest known dwarf planet named after Greek goddess of chaos [HAIL ERIS!]
San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 9/13/06 | Alicia Chang

Posted on 09/13/2006 7:57:54 PM PDT by TFFKAMM

A distant, icy rock whose discovery shook up the solar system and led to Pluto's planetary demise has been given a name: Eris.

The christening of Eris, named after the Greek goddess of chaos and strife, was announced by the International Astronomical Union on Wednesday. Weeks earlier, the professional astronomers' group stripped Pluto of its planethood under new controversial guidelines.

Since its discovery last year, Eris, which had been known as 2003 UB313, ignited a debate about what constitutes a planet.

Astronomers were split over how to classify the object because there was no universal definition. Some argued it should be welcomed as the 10th planet since it was larger than Pluto, but others felt Pluto was not a full-fledged planet.

After much bickering, astronomers last month voted to shrink the solar system to eight planets, downgrading Pluto to a "dwarf planet," a category that also includes Eris and the asteroid Ceres.

Eris' discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, said the name was an obvious choice, calling it "too perfect to resist."

In mythology, Eris caused a quarrel among goddesses that sparked the Trojan War. In real life, Eris forced scientists to define a planet that eventually led to Pluto getting the boot. Soon after Pluto's dismissal from the planet club, hundreds of scientists circulated a petition protesting the decision.

Eris' moon also received a formal name: Dysnomia, the daughter of Eris known as the spirit of lawlessness.

Eris, which measures about 70 miles wider than Pluto, is the farthest known object in the solar system at 9 billion miles away from sun. It is also the third brightest object located in the Kuiper belt, a disc of icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune...

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2003ub313; astronomy; eris; fnord; kbo; mikebrown; planet; pluto; science; tno; xplanets
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To: donmeaker

Something to do with her daughter Persephone, pommegranite seeds, and the seasons, IIRC.


61 posted on 09/13/2006 9:38:54 PM PDT by lesser_satan (EKTHELTHIOR!!!)
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To: TFFKAMM
Pluto is smaller than Eris. It's small even for a dwarf. How pathetic. That's why I support the Dump Pluto grassroots efforts!


62 posted on 09/13/2006 9:45:36 PM PDT by TheSpaceCoyote
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To: Jeremiah Jr; Quix; freema; Lijahsbubbe; the-ironically-named-proverbs2
The christening of Eris, named after the Greek goddess of chaos and strife, was announced by the International Astronomical Union on Wednesday.

And...

Eris' moon also received a formal name: Dysnomia, the daughter of Eris known as the spirit of lawlessness.

63 posted on 09/13/2006 9:51:39 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal (As it was in the days of NO...)
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To: Pyro7480; annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum
To Eris human, to forgive divine. :')

· X-Planets ping list · join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark ·

64 posted on 09/13/2006 9:57:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

"Bada dum, psst!" GROAN! LOL! ;-)


65 posted on 09/13/2006 9:58:27 PM PDT by Pyro7480 ("Love is the fusion of two souls in one in order to bring about mutual perfection." -S. Terese Andes)
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To: TFFKAMM

Nope, that's Zyra....and it's comming right for us!!!! RUN!!!!


66 posted on 09/13/2006 9:58:58 PM PDT by edh
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To: lightman

Since this is the largest of the dwarf planets, it's a freak and too large to be included in their number. So out it goes... ;')


67 posted on 09/13/2006 10:06:48 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: annie laurie

The Guinness Book of World Records thought of it first (so far as I know)...


68 posted on 09/13/2006 10:18:18 PM PDT by scrabblehack
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To: TheSpaceCoyote

Does Eris have a symbol?


69 posted on 09/13/2006 10:28:50 PM PDT by scrabblehack
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To: Pyro7480

Chaos and takin' names...


70 posted on 09/13/2006 10:30:28 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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Michael Brown wasted no time in adding "dwarf planet" to his page:

http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/index.html


71 posted on 09/13/2006 10:32:13 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Saturday, September 2, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

But he hasn't updated the name yet!


72 posted on 09/13/2006 10:34:32 PM PDT by Pyro7480 ("Love is the fusion of two souls in one in order to bring about mutual perfection." -S. Terese Andes)
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To: annie laurie

The millihelen was one of the more memorable items in a PHYSICS TODAY humor feature dating from the 1970's. It was in the form of a challenge to match symbols, units, and other items with definitions. I remember the terabull and the femtobismol, along with "alpha alpha" ( cattle feed ) Avogadro's number ( in a Rome directory, ) and Galileo ( Leo's girlfriend. ) ... there were many more!


73 posted on 09/13/2006 10:43:24 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: TFFKAMM

74 posted on 09/13/2006 10:56:25 PM PDT by cartoonistx
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To: Thinkin' Gal

INDEED. Thanks.

To wit: Can you spell

SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS

and

SIGNS OF THE TIMES???


75 posted on 09/13/2006 11:15:11 PM PDT by Quix (LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED. LET ISRAEL CALL ON GOD AS THEIRS! & ISLAM FLUSH ITSELF)
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To: Thinkin' Gal

So, do the idiot satanic puppet masters also control . . .

planet naming?

Sheesh.


76 posted on 09/13/2006 11:15:51 PM PDT by Quix (LET GOD ARISE AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED. LET ISRAEL CALL ON GOD AS THEIRS! & ISLAM FLUSH ITSELF)
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To: scrabblehack
Does Eris have a symbol?

#$%@!

77 posted on 09/13/2006 11:26:49 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: Pyro7480

KALOS means beautiful, and KALLISTA is the superlative form ... beautifulest


78 posted on 09/13/2006 11:56:54 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: irishtenor
I want Pluto back where it belongs!

I hear that .... there's this heavenly body that keeps moving on me ....

.... if you know what I mean


79 posted on 09/14/2006 12:30:03 AM PDT by JohnnyZ ("I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose" -- Mitt Romney, April 2002)
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To: prophetic
I wonder if there is a NAMED asteriod or comet called WORMWOOD? Remember that this is the one that IS going to hit the Earth's oceans as mentioned in the Bible (Revelations).

In the Ukrainian language, "wormwood" is "chernobyl." Make of it what you will.

80 posted on 09/14/2006 12:44:01 AM PDT by FreedomCalls (It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
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