2003 UB 313, whose consignment to dwarf planet status was overshadowed by the fracas over Pluto, now has an official name. UB 313, provisionally known as Xena since it was in the running to be the tenth planet (or planet Roman numeral X) before astronomers decided to lock down the solar system at Neptune, was christened (136199) Eris, or just Eris for short. Eris' moon--known as Gabrielle while its parent planet was known as Xena, since S/2005 UB 313 1 is a bit of a mouthful--is now (136199) Eris I. (136199) Eris 1 is still a bit wordy, so you can just call the moon Dysnomia.
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife, and legend has it that a snub of Eris started the Trojan War. Dysnomia was the Greek goddess of lawlessness Eris' daughter. Wikipedia posits that the name might be an offhand reference to Xena: Warrior Princess, who was played by Lucy Lawless. Considering all the fracas over planethood for Eris and Pluto, the names might be nod to astronomers' sense of humor.
No comments:
Post a Comment