Fresh-Ta-Def Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Scientists Claim Discovery of 10th Planet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Sat Jul 30,11:35 AM ET LOS ANGELES - It's icy, rocky and bigger than Pluto. And according to scientists who found it orbiting the sun, it's the newest planet on our solar system's block. The planet — the farthest-known object in the solar system — is currently 9 billion miles away from the sun, or about three times Pluto's current distance from the sun. "This is the first object to be confirmed to be larger than Pluto in the outer solar system," Michael Brown, a planetary scientist at the California Institute of Technology, said Friday in a telephone briefing announcing the discovery. Brown labeled the object as a 10th planet, but there are scientists who dispute the classification of Pluto as such. Astronomers do not know the new planet's exact size, but its brightness shows that it is at least as large as Pluto and could be up to 1 1/2 times bigger. The research was funded by NASA. Brown has submitted a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, which has yet to act on the proposal, but he did not release the proposed name Friday. The briefing was hastily arranged after Brown received word that a secure Web site containing the discovery was hacked and the hacker threatened to release the information. Brown and colleagues Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory and David Rabinowitz of Yale University first photographed the object in 2003 using a 48-inch telescope at the Palomar Observatory. But it was so far away that its motion was not detected until data was analyzed again this past January. It will take at least six months before astronomers can determine its exact size. It has taken scientists this long to find the planet because its orbit is at an angle compared to the orbits of most planets. The new planet is rocky and icy, similar to Pluto, Brown said. Alan Stern of the Southwestern Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., said he was not surprised by the discovery since other objects around the size of Pluto have been found in the Kuiper belt, a disc of icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune. What's unique about the latest finding is that the object appears to be bigger than Pluto, he said. "Unless they've made a grave mistake, this is for real," said Stern, who had no role in the discovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 pretty cool. ive been hearing alot lately about new planets and stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh-Ta-Def Posted July 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 yeah man this is cool but you know how long it would take to get ther man Damn 9billion miles whoa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceAngel Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 I read about that on another site.. it seems kinda creepy but it's cool at the same time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh-Ta-Def Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 yeah it cool but imagin how much more we can discover if we get farther out in the universe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceAngel Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 I wonder how people discovered that planet and got a lot of facts about it... cuz scientists have never landed a space probe on Pluto, so how did they discover this planet which is way beyond Pluto?! :hmm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh-Ta-Def Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 no clue maby the prope floated haha. but i know i learned in science class that scientists sent one out taking pictures of everything and transmitting them somehow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bracesup Posted July 31, 2005 Members Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Mysterious, isn't it? :hmm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh-Ta-Def Posted July 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 yeah man no doubt i wanna find a planet then name it something funny so that when they learn it in school it be like WHAT??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bracesup Posted July 31, 2005 Members Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 yeah man no doubt i wanna find a planet then name it something funny so that when they learn it in school it be like WHAT??? ← You've already got Uranus for that. :haha: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonic1988 Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 I heard that if a 10th planet was discovered it would be called planet X because X is the roman numeral for 10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzy Julie Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 didnt they discover this ages ago. Im sure when i was a kid we were talking about it, unless i heard wrong and they just guessed there was another one there???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceAngel Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 didnt they discover this ages ago. Im sure when i was a kid we were talking about it, unless i heard wrong and they just guessed there was another one there???? ← I'm pretty sure it's a recent discovery... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fresh-Ta-Def Posted August 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2005 yeah man no doubt i wanna find a planet then name it something funny so that when they learn it in school it be like WHAT??? ← You've already got Uranus for that. :haha: ← haha true man haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeaceAngel Posted August 1, 2005 Report Share Posted August 1, 2005 yeah man no doubt i wanna find a planet then name it something funny so that when they learn it in school it be like WHAT??? ← You've already got Uranus for that. :haha: ← haha true man haha ← I wonder how they came up with that name :lolsign: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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