A new candidate for the 10th planet found?

Sky & Telescope Link.

Plusses:
It’s bigger than Pluto.

Negatives:
Highly inclined orbit.
Another Kuiper Belt Object.

Neither:
Currently 97 AU from the Sun.
Probably flung into this orbit courtesy of Neptune.
Do you think that we have a 10th planet or is this becoming more likely that we actually have 8 planets and a bunch of KBO’s? Further down in the article, there was a bonus KBO discovery that makes me think we should consider ourselves an 8 planet solar system.

My head says eight planets and some large KPO. But my heart doesn’t want to let go of Pluto. When you grow up with nine planets, it’s hard to give one up.

Yeah, I’ll agree with Baldwin on this one. You don’t declare something is a planet and then 75 years later, revoke its “planetness”. I know Clyde Tombaugh (Pluto’s discoverer) was (obviously) a strong advocate of its planetary categorization.

I hear they’re considering the name Goofy.

At this rate, the new planet may be one of 40 or 50 in our solar system.

Imagine having to recite THOSE names in grade school!

Mother Very Easily Made a Jam Sandwich Using No Peanuts, Mayonnaise or Glue. :smiley:

Please see New Planet Discovered in Our Solar System?

from earlier in the days.

That thread is describing KBO 2003 EL61.

The link I provided is 2003 UB313 with a mere honorable mention of 2003 EL61.

And here is the discover’s website with comparisons to other KBO’s and Pluto.

Bob it is! :wink:

Here’s an even bigger question: Why would a hacker threat cause them to release the info. about it?

?

Go ahead. Why not? Why would the hacker even care?

I say we go back to eight planets, but rename the Kuiper Belt the “Pluto belt.” :smiley:

From what I’ve heard, the hackers were other astronomers who were going to use the observation data to steal credit for discovering the new planet.

They weren’t actually ‘hackers’ but a guy who used Goggle to dig up the information that Brown had put on the Internet himself 2 years ago.

This is Brown’s webpage explaining all about the “hacking”.

Brown published an apstract of a paper mentioning K40506A which was his reference to the planet and also the default reference given by the telescope whos logs were also availavle on the 'net.

Googling ‘K40506A’ gives you an abstract about a new object being found AND the location of it in the sky, so Brown was rushed to bring to news to the world before others did.