Eris (dwarf planet)
Eris (center) and Dysnomia (left of center), taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
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Discovery | |||||||||
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Discovered by | |||||||||
Discovery date | January 5, 2005[2][a] | ||||||||
Designations | |||||||||
MPC designation | 136199 Eris | ||||||||
Pronunciation | /ˈɪərᵻs/ or /ˈɛrᵻs/[b] | ||||||||
Named after
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Eris | ||||||||
2003 UB313[3] | |||||||||
Adjectives | Eridian | ||||||||
Orbital characteristics[3] | |||||||||
Epoch December 9, 2014 (JD 457000.5) 2 |
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Aphelion |
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Perihelion |
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Eccentricity | 68 0.440 | ||||||||
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Average orbital speed
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3.4338 km/s | ||||||||
° 204.16 | |||||||||
Inclination | 44.0445° | ||||||||
35.9531° | |||||||||
150.977° | |||||||||
Known satellites | Dysnomia | ||||||||
Physical characteristics | |||||||||
Mean radius
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±6 km 1163[8][9] | ||||||||
±0.02)×107 km2 (1.70[c] | |||||||||
Volume | ±0.10)×109 km3 (6.59[c] | ||||||||
Mass | |||||||||
Mean density
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±0.07 g/cm3 2.52[d] | ||||||||
±0.02 m/s2 0.82 ±0.002 0.083g[e] |
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1.38±0.01 km/s[e] | |||||||||
Sidereal rotation period
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±0.5 hr 25.9[11] | ||||||||
Albedo | +0.09 −0.04 0.96[8] |
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Spectral type
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B−V=0.78, V−R=0.45[12] | ||||||||
18.7[13] | |||||||||
+0.06 −0.11 −1.17[f] |
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40 milli-arcsec[15] |
Eris (minor-planet designation 136199 Eris) is the most massive and second-largest dwarf planet[g] known in the Solar System. It is also the ninth-most-massive known body directly orbiting the Sun,[g] and the largest known body in the Solar System not visited by a spacecraft. It is measured to be 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445.3 ± 7.5 mi) in diameter.[8] Eris is 27% more massive than dwarf planet Pluto, though Pluto is slightly larger by volume.[16] Eris' mass is about 0.27% of the Earth's mass.[10][17]
Eris was discovered in January 2005 by a Palomar Observatory-based team led by Mike Brown, and its identity was verified later that year. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) and a member of a high-eccentricity population known as the scattered disk. It has one known moon, Dysnomia. As of February 2016[update], its distance from the Sun is 96.3 astronomical units (1.441×1010 km; 8.95×109 mi),[13] roughly three times that of Pluto. With the exception of some comets, Eris and Dysnomia are currently the second-most-distant known natural objects in the Solar System,[18][h] the farthest object being V774104 discovered in November 2015 at 103 AU.[21]
Because Eris appeared to be larger than Pluto, NASA initially described it as the Solar System's tenth planet. This, along with the prospect of other objects of similar size being discovered in the future, motivated the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time. Under the IAU definition approved on August 24, 2006, Eris is a "dwarf planet", along with objects such as Pluto, Ceres, Haumea and Makemake,[22] thereby reducing the number of known planets in the Solar System to eight, the same as before Pluto's discovery in 1930. Observations of a stellar occultation by Eris in 2010 showed that its diameter was 2,326 ± 12 kilometers (1,445.3 ± 7.5 mi), very slightly less than Pluto,[23][24] which was measured by New Horizons as ±4 km in July 2015. 2372[25]
Contents
History[edit]
Discovery[edit]
Eris was discovered by the team of Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David Rabinowitz[2] on January 5, 2005, from images taken on October 21, 2003. The discovery was announced on July 29, 2005, the same day as Makemake and two days after Haumea,[26] due in part to events that would later lead to controversy about Haumea. The search team had been systematically scanning for large outer Solar System bodies for several years, and had been involved in the discovery of several other large TNOs, including 50000 Quaoar, 90482 Orcus, and 90377 Sedna.
Routine observations were taken by the team on October 21, 2003, using the 1.2 m Samuel Oschin Schmidt telescope at Palomar Observatory, California, but the image of Eris was not discovered at that point due to its very slow motion across the sky: The team's automatic image-searching software excluded all objects moving at less than 1.5 arcseconds per hour to reduce the number of false positives returned. When Sedna was discovered, it was moving at 1.75 arcsec/h, and in light of that the team reanalyzed their old data with a lower limit on the angular motion, sorting through the previously excluded images by eye. In January 2005, the re-analysis revealed Eris's slow motion against the background stars.
Follow-up observations were then carried out to make a preliminary determination of Eris's orbit, which allowed the object's distance to be estimated. The team had planned to delay announcing their discoveries of the bright objects Eris and Makemake until further observations and calculations were complete, but announced them both on July 29 when the discovery of another large TNO they had been tracking, Haumea, was controversially announced on July 27 by a different team in Spain.[2]
More observations released in October 2005 revealed that Eris has a moon, later named Dysnomia. Observations of Dysnomia's orbit permitted scientists to determine the mass of Eris, which in June 2007 they calculated to be ±0.02)×1022 kg, (1.66[10] ±2% greater than Pluto's. 27%
Name[edit]
Eris is named after the Greek goddess Eris (Greek Ἔρις), a personification of strife and discord.[27] The name was assigned on September 13, 2006, following an unusually long period in which the object was known by the provisional designation 2003 UB313, which was granted automatically by the IAU under their naming protocols for minor planets. The regular adjectival form of Eris is Eridian.
Xena[edit]
Due to uncertainty over whether the object would be classified as a planet or a minor planet, because different nomenclature procedures apply to these different classes of objects,[28] the decision on what to name the object had to wait until after the August 24, 2006, IAU ruling.[29] As a result, for a time the object became known to the wider public as Xena.
"Xena" was an informal name used internally by the discovery team. It was inspired by the title character of the television series Xena: Warrior Princess. The discovery team had reportedly saved the nickname "Xena" for the first body they discovered that was larger than Pluto. According to Brown,
We chose it since it started with an X (planet "X"), it sounds mythological (OK, so it's TV mythology, but Pluto is named after a cartoon, right?),[i] and (this part is actually true) we've been working to get more female deities out there (e.g. Sedna). Also, at the time, the TV show was still on TV, which shows you how long we've been searching![31]
"We assumed [that] a real name would come out fairly quickly, [but] the process got stalled", Mike Brown said in interview,
One reporter [Ken Chang][32] called me up from the New York Times who happened to have been a friend of mine from college, [and] I was a little less guarded with him than I am with the normal press. He asked me, "What's the name you guys proposed?" and I said, "Well, I'm not going to tell." And he said, "Well, what do you guys call it when you're just talking amongst yourselves?"... As far as I remember this was the only time I told anybody this in the press, and then it got everywhere, which I only sorta felt bad about—I kinda like the name.[33]
Choosing an official name[edit]
According to science writer Govert Schilling, Brown initially wanted to call the object "Lila", after a concept in Hindu mythology that described the cosmos as the outcome of a game played by Brahma. The name was very similar to "Lilah", the name of Brown's newborn daughter. Brown was mindful of not making his name public before it had been officially accepted. He had done so with Sedna a year previously, and had been heavily criticized. However, no objection was raised to the Sedna name other than the breach of protocol, and no competing names were suggested for Sedna.[35]
He listed the address of his personal web page announcing the discovery as /~mbrown/planetlila and in the chaos following the controversy over the discovery of Haumea, forgot to change it. Rather than needlessly anger more of his fellow astronomers, he simply said that the webpage had been named for his daughter and dropped "Lila" from consideration.[36]
Brown had also speculated that Persephone, the wife of the god Pluto, would be a good name for the object.[2] The name had been used several times in science fiction,[37] and was popular with the public, having handily won a poll conducted by New Scientist magazine ("Xena", despite only being a nickname, came fourth).[38] This was not possible once the object was classified as a dwarf planet, because there is already an asteroid with that name, 399 Persephone.[2]
With the dispute resolved, the discovery team proposed Eris on September 6, 2006. On September 13, 2006 this name was accepted as the official name by the IAU.[39][40] Brown decided that, because the object had been considered a planet for so long, it deserved a name from Greek or Roman mythology, like the other planets. The asteroids had taken the vast majority of Graeco-Roman names. Eris, whom Brown described as his favorite goddess, had fortunately escaped inclusion.[33] The name in part reflects the discord in the astronomical community caused by the debate over the object's (and Pluto's) classification.
Classification[edit]
Eris is a trans-Neptunian dwarf planet (plutoid).[41] Its orbital characteristics more specifically categorize it as a scattered-disk object (SDO), or a TNO that has been "scattered" from the Kuiper belt into more-distant and unusual orbits following gravitational interactions with Neptune as the Solar System was forming. Although its high orbital inclination is unusual among the known SDOs, theoretical models suggest that objects that were originally near the inner edge of the Kuiper belt were scattered into orbits with higher inclinations than objects from the outer belt.[42] Inner-belt objects are expected to be generally more massive than outer-belt objects, and so astronomers expect to discover more large objects like Eris in high-inclination orbits, which have traditionally been neglected.
Because Eris was initially thought to be larger than Pluto, it was described as the "tenth planet" by NASA and in media reports of its discovery.[43] In response to the uncertainty over its status, and because of ongoing debate over whether Pluto should be classified as a planet, the IAU delegated a group of astronomers to develop a sufficiently precise definition of the term planet to decide the issue. This was announced as the IAU's Definition of a Planet in the Solar System, adopted on August 24, 2006. At this time, both Eris and Pluto were classified as dwarf planets, a category distinct from the new definition of planet.[44] Brown has since stated his approval of this classification.[45] The IAU subsequently added Eris to its Minor Planet Catalogue, designating it (136199) Eris.[29]
Orbit[edit]
Eris has an orbital period of 558 years.[13] Its maximum possible distance from the Sun (aphelion) is 97.65 AU, and its closest (perihelion) is 37.91 AU.[13] It came to perihelion between 1698[5] and 1699,[46] to aphelion around 1977,[46] and will return to perihelion around 2256[46] to 2258.[11] Eris and its moon are currently the second most distant known objects in the Solar System, after V774104,[21] apart from long-period comets and space probes.[2][47] Approximately forty known TNOs, most notably 2006 SQ372, 2000 OO67 and Sedna, though currently closer to the Sun than Eris, have greater average orbital distances than Eris's semimajor axis of 67.7 AU.[4]
Eris's orbit is highly eccentric, and brings Eris to within 37.9 AU of the Sun, a typical perihelion for scattered objects. This is within the orbit of Pluto, but still safe from direct interaction with Neptune (29.8–30.4 AU). Pluto, on the other hand, like other plutinos, follows a less inclined and less eccentric orbit and, protected by orbital resonance, can cross Neptune's orbit. It is possible that Eris is in a 17:5 resonance with Neptune, though further observations will be required to check that hypothesis.[48] Unlike the eight planets, whose orbits all lie roughly in the same plane as the Earth's, Eris's orbit is highly inclined: It is tilted at an angle of about 44 degrees to the ecliptic. In about 800 years, Eris will be closer to the Sun than Pluto for some time (see the graph at the right).
As of February 2016[update], Eris has an apparent magnitude of 18.7, making it bright enough to be detectable to some amateur telescopes. A 200-millimetre (7.9 in) telescope with a CCD can detect Eris under favorable conditions.[j] The reason it had not been noticed until now is its steep orbital inclination; most searches for large outer Solar System objects concentrate on the ecliptic plane, where most bodies are found.
Because of the high inclination of its orbit, Eris only passes through a few constellations of the traditional Zodiac; it is now in the constellation Cetus. It was in Sculptor from 1876 until 1929 and Phoenix from roughly 1840 until 1875. In 2036 it will enter Pisces and stay there until 2065, when it will enter Aries.[46] It will then move into the northern sky, entering Perseus in 2128 and Camelopardalis (where it will reach its northernmost declination) in 2173.
Object name | Distance from the Sun (AU) | Apparent magnitude |
Absolute magnitude (H) |
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Current | Perihelion | Aphelion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
V774104 | 103 | N/A | N/A | 24 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eris | 96.2 | 37.8 | 97.6 | 18.7 | -1.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 UZ224 | 91.4 | 38.0 | 179.8 | 23.2 | 3.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2007 OR10 | 87.7 | 33.0 | 100.8 | 21.7 | 1.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 FS28 | 85.5 | 34.6 | 347.6 | 24.5 | 4.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sedna | 85.5 | 76.0 | 939 | 21.0 | 1.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FC69 | 84.4 | 40.3 | 106.9 | 24.1 | 4.6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2006 QH181 | 83.6 | 37.8 | 96.7 | 23.6 | 4.3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 VP113 | 83.5 | 80.5 | 438 | 23.4 | 4.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 FY27 | 80.2 | 36.1 | 81.8 | 22.1 | 3.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2010 GB174 | 71.3 | 48.7 | 693 | 25.1 | 6.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FJ72 | 70.7 | 38.7 | 152.2 | 24.2 | 5.6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2012 FH84 | 68.6 | 45.8 | 80.6 | 25.7 | 7.3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 GP50 | 68.0 | 35.9 | 89.1 | 24.8 | 6.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 GR50 | 67.8 | 35.6 | 78.6 | 25.1 | 6.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 FQ28 | 67.5 | 48.7 | 80.6 | 24.4 | 6.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 UJ15 | 64.9 | 36.3 | 69.2 | 25.2 | 7.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2011 GM89 | 64.2 | 37.2 | 68.8 | 25.6 | 7.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FL72 | 63.9 | 38.2 | 170.4 | 25.0 | 6.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 RR245 | 63.8 | 33.7 | 129.2 | 22.1 | 3.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 SG350 | 63.0 | 39.9 | 63.9 | 24.8 | 6.8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2013 AT183 | 62.2 | 36.0 | 88.1 | 22.0 | 4.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 SU349 | 62.2 | 30.8 | 109.8 | 25.0 | 7.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 SV349 | 62.1 | 34.2 | 89.0 | 23.0 | 5.0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FE72 | 61.6 | 36.3 | 4274.0 | 24.1 | 6.1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000 CR105 | 61.0 | 44.3 | 412 | 23.9 | 6.3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2008 ST291 | 60.3 | 42.4 | 154.5 | 22.2 | 4.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FM72 | 60.1 | 34.4 | 76.6 | 24.1 | 6.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FF72 | 60.0 | 37.1 | 63.3 | 24.8 | 6.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2003 QX113 | 60.0 | 36.7 | 62.1 | 22.5 | 4.7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FL70 | 59.4 | 33.1 | 77.0 | 24.0 | 6.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 KH162 | 59.3 | 41.5 | 82.8 | 21.6 | 3.9 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2014 FH72 | 59.2 | 37.3 | 77.3 | 25.1 | 7.2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Including all known objects currently located at least twice as far as Neptune.[18] See List of trans-Neptunian objects for more. |
Size, mass and density[edit]
Year | Radius (diameter) | Source |
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2005 | 1,199 (2,397) km[49] | Hubble |
2007 | 1,300 (2,600) km[50] | Spitzer |
2011 | 1,163 (2,326) km[8] | Occultation |
In 2005, the diameter of Eris was measured to be ±100 km, using images from the 2397Hubble Space Telescope (HST).[49][51] The size of an object is determined from its absolute magnitude (H) and the albedo (the amount of light it reflects). At a distance of 97 AU, an object with a diameter of 3,000 km would have an angular size of 40 milliarcseconds,[15] which is directly measurable with the Hubble Space Telescope. Although resolving such small objects is at the very limit of its capabilities,[k] sophisticated image processing techniques such as deconvolution can be used to measure such angular sizes fairly accurately.[l]
This makes Eris around the same size as Pluto, which is ±4 km across. It also indicates an 2372albedo of 0.96, higher than that of any other large body in the Solar System except Enceladus.[8] It is speculated that the high albedo is due to the surface ices being replenished because of temperature fluctuations as Eris's eccentric orbit takes it closer and farther from the Sun.[53]
In 2007, a series of observations of the largest trans-Neptunian objects with the Spitzer Space Telescope gave an estimate of Eris's diameter of +400
−200 km. 2600[50] The Spitzer and Hubble estimates overlap in the range of 2,400–2,500 km, 4–8% larger than Pluto. Astronomers now suspect that Eris's spin axis is currently pointing toward the Sun, which would make the sunlit hemisphere warmer than average and skew any infrared measurements toward higher values.[9] So the outcome from the 2010 Chile occultation is actually more in line with the Hubble result from 2005.[9]
In November 2010, Eris was the subject of one of the most distant stellar occultations yet from Earth.[9] Preliminary data from this event cast doubt on previous size estimates.[9] The teams announced their final results from the occultation in October 2011, with an estimated diameter of +6
−6 km. 2326[8] The mass of Eris can be calculated with much greater precision. Based on the currently accepted value for Dysnomia's period—15.774 days—[10][54] Eris is 27 percent more massive than Pluto. If the 2011 occultation results are used, then Eris has a density of ±0.07 g/cm3, 2.52[d] substantially denser than Pluto, and thus must be composed largely of rocky materials.[8]
Models of internal heating via radioactive decay suggest that Eris could have an internal ocean of liquid water at the mantle–core boundary.[55]
In July 2015, after nearly ten years of Eris being considered the ninth-largest object known to directly orbit the sun, close-up imagery from the New Horizons mission more accurately determined Pluto's volume to be slightly larger than Eris's, rather than slightly smaller as previously thought. Eris is now the tenth-largest object known to directly orbit the sun by volume, though not by mass.[56]
Surface and atmosphere[edit]
The discovery team followed up their initial identification of Eris with spectroscopic observations made at the 8 m Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii on January 25, 2005. Infrared light from the object revealed the presence of methane ice, indicating that the surface may be similar to that of Pluto, which at the time was the only TNO known to have surface methane, and of Neptune's moon Triton, which also has methane on its surface.[57] No surface details can be resolved from Earth or its orbit with any instrument currently available.
Due to Eris's distant eccentric orbit, its surface temperature is estimated to vary between about 30 and 56 K (−243.2 and −217.2 °C).[2]
Unlike the somewhat reddish Pluto and Triton, Eris appears almost white.[2] Pluto's reddish color is thought to be due to deposits of tholins on its surface, and where these deposits darken the surface, the lower albedo leads to higher temperatures and the evaporation of methane deposits. In contrast, Eris is far enough from the Sun that methane can condense onto its surface even where the albedo is low. The condensation of methane uniformly over the surface reduces any albedo contrasts and would cover up any deposits of red tholins.[58]
Even though Eris can be up to three times farther from the Sun than Pluto, it approaches close enough that some of the ices on the surface might warm enough to sublime. Because methane is highly volatile, its presence shows either that Eris has always resided in the distant reaches of the Solar System, where it is cold enough for methane ice to persist, or that the celestial body has an internal source of methane to replenish gas that escapes from its atmosphere. This contrasts with observations of another discovered TNO, Haumea, which reveal the presence of water ice but not methane.[59]
Satellite[edit]
In 2005, the adaptive optics team at the Keck telescopes in Hawaii carried out observations of the four brightest TNOs (Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, and Eris), using the newly commissioned laser guide star adaptive optics system.[60] Images taken on September 10 revealed a moon in orbit around Eris. In keeping with the "Xena" nickname already in use for Eris, Brown's team nicknamed the moon "Gabrielle", after the television warrior princess' sidekick. When Eris received its official name from the IAU, the moon received the name Dysnomia, after the Greek goddess of lawlessness who was Eris's daughter. Brown says he picked it for similarity to his wife's name, Diane. The name also retains an oblique reference to Eris's old informal name Xena, portrayed on TV by Lucy Lawless.[61]
Exploration[edit]
It was calculated that a flyby mission to Eris could take 24.66 years using a Jupiter gravity assist, based on launch dates of 3 April 2032 or 7 April 2044. Eris would be 92.03 or 90.19 AU from the Sun when the spacecraft arrives.[62]
See also[edit]
- Clearing the neighbourhood
- Former classification of planets
- List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun in 2015
- List of trans-Neptunian objects
Notes[edit]
- ^ Images were taken on October 21, 2003; the object was not detected and identified until 2005.
- ^ [6] Both are common; the former is the literary pronunciation of the name, but Brown and his students use the latter.[7]
- ^ a b Calculated from the mean radius
- ^ a b Calculated by dividing the listed mass by the listed volume
- ^ a b Calculated based on the known parameters
- ^ Calculated from the listed diameter (D) and albedo (p) using [14]
- ^ a b Eris is more massive than Pluto even though Pluto has a larger diameter. It is only the 16th-most-massive known body in the Solar System, because seven moons are more massive than any known dwarf planet.
- ^ As of February 2016[update], Sedna is 85.7 astronomical units (1.282×1010 km; 7.97×109 mi) from the Sun,[19] whereas Eris is 96.3 astronomical units (1.441×1010 km; 8.95×109 mi) from the Sun.[13] Eris is still close to its 1977 aphelion (furthest distance from the Sun), whereas Sedna is nearing its 2076 perihelion (closest approach to the Sun).[20] Sedna will overtake Eris as the farthest presently known spherical minor planet in 2114.[20]
- ^ Brown is joking on this point. It was in fact the Disney character Pluto that was named after the newly discovered "planet", though Venetia Phair, Pluto's christener, had to counter accusations her whole life that she named the planet after a cartoon dog.[30]
- ^ For an example of an amateur image of Eris, see Fred Bruenjes' Astronomy
- ^ The Resolution of the High Resolution Channel of the ACS is 40 marcsec (milliarcseconds) and the size of 1 pixel is ~25 marcsec i.e. ~1875 km at the distance of Eris.
- ^ The reference to 'direct' measurement by the HST should not mislead into thinking that this method is as 'direct' and model-independent as measuring say Neptune's size. Basically, the method consists in finding the statistically best fit to a smeared image of the size of less than 2 pixels by comparing it with smeared images of the background stars, using a given computer model of the optics (PSF). A non-technical description of the method is given on Brown's page, a detailed description of this approach and its limitations are discussed in a paper on Quaoar[52]
References[edit]
- ^ Staff (May 1, 2007). "Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets". IAU: Minor Planet Center. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Mike (2006). "The discovery of 2003 UB313 Eris, the largest known dwarf planet". Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ a b "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 136199 Eris (2003 UB313)" (September 18, 2014 last obs). Retrieved November 23, 2014.
- ^ a b "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
- ^ a b Buie, Marc (November 6, 2007). "Orbit Fit and Astrometric record for 136199". Deep Ecliptic Survey. Retrieved December 8, 2007.
- ^ "Define Eris". Dictionary.com. Random House. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
- ^ "Julia Sweeney and Michael E. Brown". Hammer Conversations: KCET podcast. 2007. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sicardy, B.; Ortiz, J. L.; Assafin, M.; Jehin, E.; Maury, A.; Lellouch, E.; Gil-Hutton, R.; Braga-Ribas, F.; Colas, F.; Widemann (2011). "Size, density, albedo and atmosphere limit of dwarf planet Eris from a stellar occultation" (PDF). European Planetary Science Congress Abstracts. 6: 137. Bibcode:2011epsc.conf..137S. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Beatty, Kelly (November 2010). "Former 'tenth planet' may be smaller than Pluto". NewScientist.com. Sky and Telescope. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Brown, Michael E.; Schaller, Emily L. (15 June 2007). "The Mass of Dwarf Planet Eris" (PDF). Science. 316 (5831): 1585. Bibcode:2007Sci...316.1585B. doi:10.1126/science.1139415. PMID 17569855.
- ^ a b Johnston, Wm. Robert (20 September 2014). "(136199) Eris and Dysnomia". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ Snodgrass, C.; Carry, B.; Dumas, C.; Hainaut, O. (February 2010). "Characterisation of candidate members of (136108) Haumea's family". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 511: A72. arXiv:0912.3171. Bibcode:2010A&A...511A..72S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200913031.
- ^ a b c d e "AstDys (136199) Eris Ephemerides". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ "Conversion of Absolute Magnitude to Diameter". sfasu.edu. Archived from the original on March 23, 2010.
- ^ a b Bertoldi, F.; Altenhoff, W.; Weiss, A.; Menten, K. M.; Thum, C. (2 February 2006). "The trans-Neptunian object UB313 is larger than Pluto". Nature. 439 (7076): 563–564. Bibcode:2006Natur.439..563B. doi:10.1038/nature04494. PMID 16452973.
- ^ "How Big Is Pluto? New Horizons Settles Decades-Long Debate". www.nasa.gov. 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
- ^ "Dwarf Planet Outweighs Pluto". space.com. 2007. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ a b c "AstDyS-2, Asteroids - Dynamic Site". 2016-02-26. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
Objects with distance from Sun over 59 AU
- ^ "AstDys (90377) Sedna Ephemerides". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
- ^ a b JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System (July 18, 2010). "Horizons Output for Sedna 2076/2114". Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved July 18, 2010. Horizons
- ^ a b Hand, E. (2015-11-10). "Astronomers spot most distant object in the solar system, could point to other rogue planets". News.ScienceMag.org. AAAS. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
- ^ "The IAU draft definition of "planet" and "plutons"" (Press release). IAU. August 16, 2006. Archived from the original on August 20, 2006. Retrieved August 16, 2006.
- ^ Brown, Mike (2010). "The shadowy hand of Eris". Mike Brown's Planets. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
- ^ Brown, Mike (November 22, 2010). "How big is Pluto, anyway?". Mike Brown's Planets. Retrieved November 23, 2010. (Franck Marchis on 2010-11-08)
- ^ "How Big Is Pluto? New Horizons Settles Decades-Long Debate". NASA. 2015. Retrieved 2015-07-13.
- ^ Thomas H. Maugh II; John Johnson Jr. (October 16, 2005). "His Stellar Discovery Is Eclipsed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- ^ Blue, Jennifer (September 14, 2006). "2003 UB 313 named Eris". USGS Astrogeology Research Program. Retrieved January 3, 2007.
- ^ "International Astronomical Association homepage". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ a b Green, Daniel W. E. (September 13, 2006). "(134340) Pluto, (136199) Eris, and (136199) Eris I (Dysnomia)" (PDF). IAU Circular. 8747. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
- ^ "The girl who named a planet". BBC News. January 13, 2006. Retrieved June 21, 2007.
- ^ "Xena and Gabrielle" (PDF). Status. January 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ Mike Brown (2012). How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming. Spiegel & Grau. p. 159.
- ^ a b Brown, Mike (2007). "Lowell Lectures in Astronomy". WGBH. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
- ^ "Faraway Eris is Pluto's Twin". ESO Science Release. October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
- ^ "Mpc 52733" (PDF). Minor Planet Center. 2004. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
- ^ Schilling, Govert (2008). The Hunt For Planet X. Springer. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-387-77804-4.
- ^ "Planet X Marks the Spot" (PDF). TechRepublic. 2006. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
- ^ O'Neill, Sean (2005). "Your top 10 names for the tenth planet". NewScientist. Retrieved June 28, 2008.
- ^ "The Discovery of Eris, the Largest Known Dwarf Planet". California Institute of Technology, Department of Geological Sciences. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ "IAU0605: IAU Names Dwarf Planet Eris". International Astronomical Union News. September 14, 2006. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ "Pluto Now Called a Plutoid". Space.com. June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
- ^ Gomes R. S.; Gallardo T.; Fernández J. A.; Brunini A. (2005). "On the origin of the High-Perihelion Scattered Disk: the role of the Kozai mechanism and mean motion resonances". Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy. 91 (1–2): 109–129. Bibcode:2005CeMDA..91..109G. doi:10.1007/s10569-004-4623-y.
- ^ "NASA-Funded Scientists Discover Tenth Planet". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ "IAU 2006 General Assembly: Resolutions 5 and 6" (PDF). IAU. August 24, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-09-28.
- ^ Robert Roy Britt (2006). "Pluto Demoted: No Longer a Planet in Highly Controversial Definition". space.com. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Yeomans, Donald K. "Horizons Online Ephemeris System". California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
- ^ Peat, Chris. "Spacecraft escaping the Solar System". Heavens-Above. Retrieved January 25, 2008.
- ^ Simulation of Eris (2003 UB313)'s orbit predicting a 17:5 resonance
- ^ a b "Hubble Finds 'Tenth Planet' Slightly Larger Than Pluto". NASA. April 11, 2006. Retrieved August 29, 2008.
- ^ a b John Stansberry; Will Grundy; Mike Brown; John Spencer; David Trilling; Dale Cruikshank; Jean-Luc Margot (2007). "Physical Properties of Kuiper Belt and Centaur Objects: Constraints from Spitzer Space Telescope". arXiv:astro-ph/0702538 [astro-ph].
- ^ "Comment on the recent Hubble Space Telescope size measurement of 2003 UB313 by Brown et al.". Max Planck Institute. 2006. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ M. E. Brown and C. A. Trujillo (2004). "Direct Measurement of the Size of the Large Kuiper Belt Object (50000) Quaoar" (PDF). The Astronomical Journal. 127 (7076): 2413–2417. Bibcode:2004AJ....127.2413B. doi:10.1086/382513. Describing in detail the method applied to the recent measure of 2003 UB313.
- ^ M. E. Brown, E.L. Schaller, H.G. Roe, D. L. Rabinowitz, C. A. Trujillo (2006). "Direct measurement of the size of 2003 UB313 from the Hubble Space Telescope" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 643 (2): L61–L63. arXiv:astro-ph/0604245. Bibcode:2006ApJ...643L..61B. doi:10.1086/504843.
- ^ Brown, Mike (2007). "Dysnomia, the moon of Eris". Caltech. Retrieved June 14, 2007.
- ^ Hussmann, Hauke; Sohl, Frank; Spohn, Tilman (November 2006). "Subsurface oceans and deep interiors of medium-sized outer planet satellites and large trans-neptunian objects" (PDF). Icarus. 185 (1): 258–273. Bibcode:2006Icar..185..258H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2006.06.005.
- ^ NBC News (July 13, 2015). "New Horizons Probe Finds Out Pluto's Bigger (and Icier) Than We Thought". Retrieved July 13, 2015.
- ^ "Gemini Observatory Shows That "10th Planet" Has a Pluto-Like Surface". Gemini Observatory. 2005. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
- ^ M. E. Brown, C. A. Trujillo, D. L. Rabinowitz (2005). "Discovery of a Planetary-sized Object in the Scattered Kuiper Belt". The Astrophysical Journal. 635 (1): L97–L100. arXiv:astro-ph/0508633. Bibcode:2005ApJ...635L..97B. doi:10.1086/499336.
- ^ J. Licandro; W. M. Grundy; N. Pinilla-Alonso; P. Leisy (2006). "Visible spectroscopy of 2003 UB313: evidence for N2 ice on the surface of the largest TNO" (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics. 458 (1): L5–L8. arXiv:astro-ph/0608044. Bibcode:2006A&A...458L...5L. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20066028.
- ^ Brown, M. E.; Van Dam, M. A.; Bouchez, A. H.; Le Mignant, D.; Campbell, R. D.; Chin, J. C. Y.; Conrad, A.; Hartman, S. K.; Johansson, E. M.; Lafon, R. E.; Rabinowitz, D. L. Rabinowitz; Stomski, P. J., Jr.; Summers, D. M.; Trujillo, C. A.; Wizinowich, P. L. (2006). "Satellites of the Largest Kuiper Belt Objects" (PDF). The Astrophysical Journal. 639 (1): L43–L46. arXiv:astro-ph/0510029. Bibcode:2006ApJ...639L..43B. doi:10.1086/501524. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
- ^ Tytell, David (2006). "All Hail Eris and Dysnomia". Sky and Telescope. Retrieved January 5, 2010.
- ^ McGranaghan, R.; Sagan, B.; Dove, G.; Tullos, A.; Lyne, J. E.; Emery, J. P. (2011). "A Survey of Mission Opportunities to Trans-Neptunian Objects". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 64: 296–303. Bibcode:2011JBIS...64..296M.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eris. |
- MPC Database entry for (136199) Eris
- Michael Brown's webpage about Eris
- Brown's webpage about Dysnomia
- 2007 KCET interview of Mike Brown about Eris and Haumea with Julia Sweeney
- compiled list of data
- MPEC listing for 2003 UB313
- Java 3D orbit visualization
- Spaceflight Now article about 2003 UB313 (Eris), 2003 EL61, and 2005 FY9 (Makemake)
- Slacker Astronomy Interview With Co-Discoverer Trujillo
- Trans-Neptunian Object 2003 UB313—IAU statement regarding the planetary status of Eris
- Simulation of 2003 UB313's orbit
- Keck observatory page about the discovery of Dysnomia
- Caltech Press Release, 7/29/2005 "Planetary Scientists Discover Tenth Planet".
- Press release on the Spitzer Space Telescope trying to image 2003 UB313 again
- Eris (dwarf planet)
- Astronomical objects discovered in 2005
- Discoveries by Michael E. Brown
- Pluto's planethood
- Scattered disc and detached objects
- Minor planets named from Greek mythology
- Named minor planets
- Numbered minor planets
- Discoveries by Chad Trujillo
- Discoveries by David L. Rabinowitz
- Binary trans-Neptunian objects