Solar The System Missions
Astronomers discover 'new planet' Astronomers have detected what could be the Solar System's 10th planet. It was first seen by astronomers using California's Palomar Observatory, and has been given the name "Sedna" after the Inuit goddess of the ocean. Observations show it measures about 1,1802,360km (730-1,470 miles) across, making it similar in size to Pluto. Astronomers now say they have evidence that Sedna has its own moon, although this needs to be confirmed, and is also very red in colour. There is likely to be some debate about whether it qualifies as a true planet, but some scientists are already saying it re-defines our Solar System. BBC News March 15, 2004
What's New??
NEW YORK (AP) -- One of the nation's leading science museums has quietly shaken up the universe by suggesting that Pluto is not necessarily a planet at all but just a lump of ice. The startling suggestion comes from scientists at the Rose Center for Earth and Space, which opened last year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Comparative Planetology Dwarf Planets Pre June 2008
Name Clasification Diameter (km) Mass compared to earth Radius compared to earth Ceres Dwarf Planet 975 x 909 .00016 .0738 Pluto Dwarf Planet 2306 .0022 .180 Eris Dwarf Planet 2400 .0027 .19
Date of Discovery
01/01/1801
02/18/1930
01/05/2005
Comparative Planetology Plutoids and Dwarf Planets Post June 2008
Name Clasification Diameter (km) Mass compared to earth Radius compared to earth Ceres Dwarf Planet 975 x 909 .00016 .0738 Pluto Plutoid 2306 .0022 .180 Eris Plutoid 2400 .0027 .19
Date of Discovery
01/01/1801
02/18/1930
01/05/2005
Beyond a doubt, more to come...
Comparative Planetology Plutiods and Dwarf Planets
Comparative Planetology Plutoids and Dwarf Planets
Note: 2003 UB313 is now called Eris
Ceres Goddess of Plants (Roman)
Discovered: 01/01/1801 Classification: Dwarf Planet Remains classified as a Dwarf Planet, and is believed to be the only object of its kind
Ceres
The International Astronomical Union has reclassified Ceres, the first asteroid to be discovered (and the largest and most massive object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter), as a "dwarf planet". Ceres was discovered on January 1, 1801 (technically the first day of the 19th Century) by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo, Sicily. He named it after Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture and grain. Ceres was originally considered a planet, but when dozens of asteroids came to be discovered, it was reclassified in an asteroid. (I have an astronomy guide from the 1830s that lists 11 planets, the seven from Mercury to Uranus, plus Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, the first four asteroids to be discovered.) I took this photo with a Canon Digital Rebel in late July when Ceres was in the constellation Piscis Austrinus; Ceres is between the marks at upper right. Comments
Ceres
Pluto
Discovered: 02/18/1930
Pluto was discovered in 1930. Pluto's satellite Charon was discovered in 1978. Pluto is a low-density planet made up of 97% nitrogen. The combined mass of Pluto and Charon is 450 times less than Earths mass. It rotates once every 6.39 Earth days and it revolves around the sun for 247.7 Earths years.
Pluto Ruler of the Dead
Pluto is known as the ruler of the dead and lives in the underworld and his name Pluto meant the giver of wealth since many precious gems and metals were found were he lived. His Greek name is Hades, which means the unseen. He owns a giant three-headed dog that guards the gates of the underworld. There is a myth of how Hades got his wife. When Hades got bored of the underworld, he wanted a wife. So he went up to earth to kidnap Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. When Demeter found out that her daughter was kidnapped, she became furious and went up to Jupiter. After a while, Jupiter decided that six months, Persephone would spend time with her mother, and another six months she would become queen of the dead. Whenever Persephone went down to the underworld, Demeter would be said and her tears would be the falling leaves of autumn. She would be so sad that all the crops would stop growing and everything would turn cold. When she saw Persephone, she would happy again and everything would come back to life, this is the mythological theory of the seasons. Pluto has a helmet of darkness that made him invisible during battle. In astrology, Pluto rules your private life.
Pluto
Pluto Facts Sheet: Classification: Plutoid Mass of planet (Earth=1) = 0.002 Mean density (grams/centimeter ) = 2.03 Interior: Ice?? Surface: Water: Atmosphere: mostly nitrogen gas, just like that of the Earth and Saturn's moon Titan, with the addition of carbon monoxide (CO what comes out of your car) and methane (CH4). Moons: 1
Pluto
This is the clearest view of Pluto and its satellite Charon by seen the Hubble Space Telescope and taken by the European Space Agency's Faint Object Camera on February 21, 1994.
Eris (Formerly 2003 UB313) Goddess of Strife and Discord
First observed: 2003 Classification: Plutoid Formal identification: 01/05/2005 About 10 Billion kilometers from the sun (96.7 AU) Aphelion: 97.56 AU Perihelion: 37.77 AU The name Eris was chosen because of the strife and discord in the astronomical community over the official designation of Eris and, maybe more popularly, the designation of Pluto as a planet.
Eris
A view of the solar system from the north down. The four circles show the orbits of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. The yellow dot in the center is the sun. The earth, if it were shown, would be inside the yellow dot representing the sun. The orbits of the two outermost planets, along with their current positions, are also shown. If you are worried because the sun appears to not be the focus of the orbital ellipse you are very observant! But it is just a projection effect.
Sedna Spirit of the Sea
Sedna is the spirit of the sea according to the peoples of northern Canada and Greenland, named Inuit. Sedna resides at the bottom of the sea and has power over all animals. Her control of the sea, which the Inuit people depend on for their survival, gives Sedna an enormous power. Inuit people believe that success or failure in hunting depend on her unpredictable mood.
Sedna
Discovered: 11/14/2003 Classification: ??? About 10 Billion kilometers from the sun
Aphelion: 975.56 AU Perihelion: 76.156 AU
It is not presently known if Sedna is in Hydrostatic equilibrium (condition 3 of the IAU planetary definition), so its classification is currently not finalized.
Sedna
The discovery of Sedna resurrected the question of which astronomical objects should be considered planets and which should not. On March 15, 2004, articles in the popular press reported that "the tenth planet has been discovered". This question was answered under the new International Astronomical Union definition of a planet, adopted on August 24, 2006. It is unknown whether or not Sedna is in hydrostatic equilibrium. If, as currently suspected,[16] it is, then it would qualify as a dwarf planet. Sedna has a SternLevison parameter estimated at between 8 10-5 and 6 10-3 times that of Pluto,[17] and therefore cannot be considered to have cleared the neighbourhood of its orbit, even though no other objects have yet been discovered in its vicinity.
Image above: These three panels show the first detection of the faint distant object dubbed "Sedna." Imaged on Nov 14 from 6:32 to 9:38 UT, Sedna was identified by te slight shift in position notes in these three pictures taken at different times. Image courtesy: NASA/Caltach.
Sedna
Astronomers have announced the discovery of a large new planetoid named Sedna. Mike Brown of the California Institute of Techno...