Scientists Discover Tenth Planet (2003 UB313)

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...th_Planet.html

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt/Gay Hill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818-354-0880/0344)

July 29, 2005

RELEASE: 05-209

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions
of the solar system.

The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar
Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The discovery was announced today by
planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by
NASA.

The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size
in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified
as a planet, Brown said. Currently about 97 times further from the sun
than the Earth, the planet is the farthest-known object in the solar
system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

"It will be visible with a telescope over the next six months and is
currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in
the constellation Cetus," said Brown, who made the discovery with
colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., on
January 8.

Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first photographed the new planet with
the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on October 31, 2003. However, the
object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they
reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months,
the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its
size
and its motions.

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is a professor of
planetary astronomy.

Scientists can infer the size of a solar system object by its
brightness, just as one can infer the size of a faraway light bulb if
one knows its wattage. The reflectance of the planet is not yet known.
Scientists can not yet tell how much light from the sun is reflected
away, but the amount of light the planet reflects puts a lower limit on
its size.

"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would
still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a
half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size.

"We are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than
Pluto ever found in the outer solar system," Brown added.

The size of the planet is limited by observations using NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope, which has already proved its mettle in studying the
heat of dim, faint, faraway objects such as the Kuiper-belt bodies.
Because Spitzer is unable to detect the new planet, the overall
diameter
must be less than 2,000 miles, said Brown.

A name for the new planet has been proposed by the discoverers to the
International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of
this body before announcing the name.

For more information on the discovery and to view images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...05-images.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

- end -

wrote:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...th_Planet.html

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt/Gay Hill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818-354-0880/0344)

July 29, 2005

RELEASE: 05-209

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions
of the solar system.

The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar
Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The discovery was announced today by
planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by
NASA.

The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size
in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified
as a planet, Brown said. Currently about 97 times further from the sun
than the Earth, the planet is the farthest-known object in the solar
system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

"It will be visible with a telescope over the next six months and is
currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in
the constellation Cetus," said Brown, who made the discovery with
colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., on
January 8.

Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first photographed the new planet with
the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on October 31, 2003. However, the
object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they
reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months,
the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its
size
and its motions.

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is a professor of
planetary astronomy.

Scientists can infer the size of a solar system object by its
brightness, just as one can infer the size of a faraway light bulb if
one knows its wattage. The reflectance of the planet is not yet known.
Scientists can not yet tell how much light from the sun is reflected
away, but the amount of light the planet reflects puts a lower limit on
its size.

"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would
still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a
half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size.

"We are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than
Pluto ever found in the outer solar system," Brown added.

The size of the planet is limited by observations using NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope, which has already proved its mettle in studying the
heat of dim, faint, faraway objects such as the Kuiper-belt bodies.
Because Spitzer is unable to detect the new planet, the overall
diameter
must be less than 2,000 miles, said Brown.

A name for the new planet has been proposed by the discoverers to the
International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of
this body before announcing the name.

For more information on the discovery and to view images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...05-images.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

- end -


I do think this is exciting. It's not every morning that you wake up
to hear of a new planet being discovered in our solar system! While
other objects have already been discovered beyond Pluto, this one may
actually have the size to be called the tenth planet.

Apparently it was actually discovered six months ago. I'm not sure why
they waited so long to make the discovery public.

I wish my father were alive for this. The planet Pluto was discovered
during his lifetime. That was 75 years ago.

Perhaps we need to look for more planets that are not aligned with the
plane of the ecliptic. Perhaps the disk-like planetary alignment is
only characteristic of the inner planets.

Double-A

Double-A wrote:
wrote:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...th_Planet.html

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt/Gay Hill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818-354-0880/0344)

July 29, 2005

RELEASE: 05-209

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions
of the solar system.

The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar
Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The discovery was announced today by
planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by
NASA.

The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size
in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified
as a planet, Brown said. Currently about 97 times further from the sun
than the Earth, the planet is the farthest-known object in the solar
system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

"It will be visible with a telescope over the next six months and is
currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in
the constellation Cetus," said Brown, who made the discovery with
colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., on
January 8.

Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first photographed the new planet with
the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on October 31, 2003. However, the
object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they
reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months,
the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its
size
and its motions.

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is a professor of
planetary astronomy.

Scientists can infer the size of a solar system object by its
brightness, just as one can infer the size of a faraway light bulb if
one knows its wattage. The reflectance of the planet is not yet known.
Scientists can not yet tell how much light from the sun is reflected
away, but the amount of light the planet reflects puts a lower limit on
its size.

"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would
still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a
half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size.

"We are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than
Pluto ever found in the outer solar system," Brown added.

The size of the planet is limited by observations using NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope, which has already proved its mettle in studying the
heat of dim, faint, faraway objects such as the Kuiper-belt bodies.
Because Spitzer is unable to detect the new planet, the overall
diameter
must be less than 2,000 miles, said Brown.

A name for the new planet has been proposed by the discoverers to the
International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of
this body before announcing the name.

For more information on the discovery and to view images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...05-images.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

- end -


I do think this is exciting. It's not every morning that you wake up
to hear of a new planet being discovered in our solar system! While
other objects have already been discovered beyond Pluto, this one may
actually have the size to be called the tenth planet.

Apparently it was actually discovered six months ago. I'm not sure why
they waited so long to make the discovery public.

I wish my father were alive for this. The planet Pluto was discovered
during his lifetime. That was 75 years ago.

Perhaps we need to look for more planets that are not aligned with the
plane of the ecliptic. Perhaps the disk-like planetary alignment is
only characteristic of the inner planets.

Double-A

More confusiion

http://www.space.com/scienceastronom...ew_planet.html

In article .com,
Double-A wrote:
Apparently it was actually discovered six months ago. I'm not sure why
they waited so long to make the discovery public.

What they discovered six months ago was a speck on an image. It took a
while to get some idea of how *big* it was. (Pluto's size was uncertain
for many years.)

Perhaps we need to look for more planets that are not aligned with the
plane of the ecliptic.

People have looked. These little iceballs aren't conspicuous objects.
--
No, the devil isn't in the details. | Henry Spencer
The devil is in the *assumptions*. |

wrote:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...th_Planet.html

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt/Gay Hill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818-354-0880/0344)

July 29, 2005

RELEASE: 05-209

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions
of the solar system.

The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar
Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The discovery was announced today by
planetary scientist Dr. Mike Brown of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, Calif., whose research is partly funded by
NASA.

The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size
in
relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified
as a planet, Brown said. Currently about 97 times further from the sun
than the Earth, the planet is the farthest-known object in the solar
system, and the third brightest of the Kuiper belt objects.

"It will be visible with a telescope over the next six months and is
currently almost directly overhead in the early-morning eastern sky, in
the constellation Cetus," said Brown, who made the discovery with
colleagues Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea,
Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz, of Yale University, New Haven, Conn., on
January 8.

Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first photographed the new planet with
the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on October 31, 2003. However, the
object was so far away that its motion was not detected until they
reanalyzed the data in January of this year. In the last seven months,
the scientists have been studying the planet to better estimate its
size
and its motions.

"It's definitely bigger than Pluto," said Brown, who is a professor of
planetary astronomy.

Scientists can infer the size of a solar system object by its
brightness, just as one can infer the size of a faraway light bulb if
one knows its wattage. The reflectance of the planet is not yet known.
Scientists can not yet tell how much light from the sun is reflected
away, but the amount of light the planet reflects puts a lower limit on
its size.

"Even if it reflected 100 percent of the light reaching it, it would
still be as big as Pluto," says Brown. "I'd say it's probably one and a
half times the size of Pluto, but we're not sure yet of the final size.

"We are 100 percent confident that this is the first object bigger than
Pluto ever found in the outer solar system," Brown added.

The size of the planet is limited by observations using NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope, which has already proved its mettle in studying the
heat of dim, faint, faraway objects such as the Kuiper-belt bodies.
Because Spitzer is unable to detect the new planet, the overall
diameter
must be less than 2,000 miles, said Brown.

A name for the new planet has been proposed by the discoverers to the
International Astronomical Union, and they are awaiting the decision of
this body before announcing the name.

For more information on the discovery and to view images, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/...05-images.html

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html

- end -


I do think this is exciting. It's not every morning that you wake up
to hear of a new planet being discovered in our solar system! While
other objects have already been discovered beyond Pluto, this one may
actually have the size to be called the tenth planet.

Apparently it was actually discovered six months ago. I'm not sure why
they waited so long to make the discovery public.

I wish my father were alive for this. The planet Pluto was discovered
during his lifetime. That was 75 years ago.

Perhaps we need to look for more planets that are not aligned with the
plane of the ecliptic. Perhaps the disk-like planetary alignment is
only characteristic of the inner planets.

Double-A

NASA Science News for July 29, 2005

Astronomers have found a new world bigger than Pluto in
the outer reaches of the solar system.

FULL STORY at

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2....htm?list89139

The Science@NASA Podcast feed is available at http://science.nasa.gov/podcast.xml.

wrote:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005...th_Planet.html

Dolores Beasley
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Jane Platt/Gay Hill
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(Phone: 818-354-0880/0344)

July 29, 2005

RELEASE: 05-209

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet

A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions
of the solar system.


*What's the RA/Dec, magnitud of this object, tenth planet? What's the
smallest aparture telescope, it can be seen?
Julius

On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:57:36 -0700, szaki wrote:

*What's the RA/Dec, magnitud of this object, tenth planet? What's the
smallest aparture telescope, it can be seen?

Mag 18.9. An easy object for imagers, but you aren't going to pick it up
visually with a typical amateur-class aperture.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jul 2005 07:57:36 -0700, szaki wrote:


*What's the RA/Dec, magnitud of this object, tenth planet? What's the
smallest aparture telescope, it can be seen?


Mag 18.9. An easy object for imagers, but you aren't going to pick it up
visually with a typical amateur-class aperture.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

18.9? No problem for my 4" APO, I just have to use my imagenation.(o:
Thx, Julius

Scientists Discover Tenth Planet


How about Plutopia or possibly X (Roman Numeral).