Object Bigger than Pluto Discovered, Called 10th Planet
Pluto, the on again, off again planet whose designation seems to shift with the winds of conjecture would, if this solitary sphere could indeed hold on to it’s planetary designation, be the ninth planet in our solar system. Not to be confused with the yet to be found Planet Nine, which until today lurks in the blackness of space unwilling to give up its location.
So, if Pluto is indeed the ninth planet, that means a new planet discovered out in the Kuiper belt at the edges of our Heliosphere would be the tenth planet.
If the debate about what objects should be considered planets rages on, maybe the discussion about what should be included in our solar system is up for debate as well because this planet is way, way out there.
The planetary object designated as 2003 UB313 is 97 AU from the Sun. An AU or astronomical unit is measured as the distance between the Sun and Earth. Pluto’s orbit ranges from 30 to 49 AU.
If 2003 UB313 is twice the distance from the Sun as Pluto, this new planet is really far away. The Heliopause, the boundary of the Heliosphere, a vast bubble-like region that encapsules our solar system in plasma and solar wind, is considered the edge of our solar system lies somewhere between 94 and 123 AU.
So, if 2003 UB313 is 97 AU away from the Sun, is it actually in our solar system?
Mike McCoy
Object Bigger than Pluto Discovered, Called 10th Planet
Astronomers have discovered an object in our solar system that is larger than Pluto. They are calling it the 10th planet, but already that claim is contested.
The new world’s size is not at issue. But the very definition of planethood is.
It is the first time an object so big has been found in our solar system since the discovery of Pluto 75 years ago.
The announcement, made today by Mike Brown of Caltech, came just hours after another newfound object, one slightly smaller than Pluto, was revealed in a very confusing day for astronomers and the media.
The new object, temporarily named 2003 UB313, is about three times as far from the Sun as is Pluto.
“It’s definitely bigger than Pluto,” said Brown, a professor of planetary astronomy. The object is round and could be up to twice as large as Pluto, Brown told reporters in a hastily called NASA-run teleconference Friday evening. His best estimate is that it is 2,100 miles wide, about 1-1/2 times the diameter of Pluto.
One of many?
The object is inclined by a whopping 45 degrees to the main plane of the solar system, where most of the other planets orbit. That’s why it eluded discovery: nobody was looking there until now, Brown said.
Some astronomers view it as a Kuiper Belt object and not a planet. The Kuiper Belt is a region of frozen objects beyond Neptune.…