On 10 Sep 2005 10:44:33 -0700, "
wrote:

Many thanks to whoever posted this update!

Ed Murray

I have not seen the original message in this thread, but SpaceDaily
seems to have this story here...
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/kuiper-05f.html

I noticed a small issue in this story with not fully clarifying what
is currently going on with the IAU.

What I mean is that there are now three main groups within the IAU all
dealing with this UB313 (aka Xena) matter.

The first group is the one that has so far failed to tell us exactly
what a planet is, where it seems that they have yet to reach a
consensus.

The second group is considering Brown's currently submitted unknown
name for the TNO currently nicknamed Xena. They have to wait for the
first group to reach their decision on the status of Xena, before they
can decide what it should be called.

And now a third group has entered this debate by saying that if the
first group concludes that Xena is a "planet", then it is their right
to name it. They recommend maintaining the Greco-Roman tradition of
naming the previous planets. Brown has a couple of names in mind, but
he is unsure if he would be allowed to name his discovery in this
case.

As Xena should now be confirmed a valid TNO larger than Pluto, then it
is all now a question of the first group reaching a conclusion. This
first group has put out a preannouncement, saying that this TNO will
remain in a nameless status until they have reached a conclusion, but
I have no idea how this effects the time of the end definition.

I can only suspect that our solar system is soon to change. The big
question is... Just how many planets will our solar system soon have?

Cardman.