History Eris (dwarf planet)

1 history

1.1 discovery
1.2 name

1.2.1 xena
1.2.2 choosing official name

history
discovery

animation showing movement of eris on images used discover it. eris indicated arrow. 3 frames taken on period of 3 hours.

eris discovered team of mike brown, chad trujillo, , david rabinowitz on january 5, 2005, images taken on october 21, 2003. discovery announced on july 29, 2005, same day makemake , 2 days after haumea, due in part events later lead controversy haumea. search team had been systematically scanning large outer solar system bodies several years, , had been involved in discovery of several other large tnos, including 50000 quaoar, 90482 orcus, , 90377 sedna.

routine observations taken team on october 21, 2003, using 1.2 m samuel oschin schmidt telescope @ palomar observatory, california, image of eris not discovered @ point due slow motion across sky: team s automatic image-searching software excluded objects moving @ less 1.5 arcseconds per hour reduce number of false positives returned. when sedna discovered, moving @ 1.75 arcsec/h, , in light of team reanalyzed old data lower limit on angular motion, sorting through excluded images eye. in january 2005, re-analysis revealed eris s slow motion against background stars.

follow-up observations carried out make preliminary determination of eris s orbit, allowed object s distance estimated. team had planned delay announcing discoveries of bright objects eris , makemake until further observations , calculations complete, announced them both on july 29 when discovery of large tno had been tracking, haumea, controversially announced on july 27 different team in spain.

precovery images of eris have been identified september 3, 1954.

more observations released in october 2005 revealed eris has moon, later named dysnomia. observations of dysnomia s orbit permitted scientists determine mass of eris, in june 2007 calculated 7022166000000000000♠(1.66±0.02)×10 kg, 6999270000000000000♠27%±2% greater pluto s.

name

athenian painting of eris, c. 550 bc

eris named after greek goddess eris (greek Ἔρις), personification of strife , discord. name proposed caltech team on september 6, 2006, , assigned on september 13, 2006, following unusually long period in object known provisional designation 2003 ub313, granted automatically iau under naming protocols minor planets. regular adjectival form of eris eridian.

xena

due uncertainty on whether object classified planet or minor planet, because different nomenclature procedures apply these different classes of objects, decision on name object had wait until after august 24, 2006, iau ruling. result, time object became known wider public xena.

xena informal name used internally discovery team. inspired title character of television series xena: warrior princess. discovery team had reportedly saved nickname xena first body discovered larger pluto. according brown,

we chose since started x (planet x ), sounds mythological (ok, s tv mythology, pluto named after cartoon, right?), , (this part true) ve been working more female deities out there (e.g. sedna). also, @ time, tv show still on tv, shows how long ve been searching!

assumed [that] real name come out quickly, [but] process got stalled , mike brown said in interview,

one reporter [ken chang] called me new york times happened have been friend of mine college, [and] little less guarded him normal press. asked me, s name guys proposed? , said, well, m not going tell. , said, well, guys call when re talking amongst yourselves? ... far remember time told in press, , got everywhere, sorta felt bad about—i kinda name.

choosing official name

artist s impression of dwarf planet eris , large moon dysnomia. artistic representation based on observations made @ eso s la silla observatory.

according science writer govert schilling, brown wanted call object lila , after concept in hindu mythology described cosmos outcome of game played brahma. name similar lilah , name of brown s newborn daughter. brown mindful of not making name public before had been officially accepted. had done sedna year previously, , had been heavily criticized. however, no objection raised sedna name other breach of protocol, , no competing names suggested sedna.

he listed address of personal web page announcing discovery /~mbrown/planetlila , in chaos following controversy on discovery of haumea, forgot change it. rather needlessly anger more of fellow astronomers, said webpage had been named daughter , dropped lila consideration.

brown had speculated persephone, wife of god pluto, name object. name had been used several times in science fiction, , popular public, having handily won poll conducted new scientist magazine ( xena , despite being nickname, came fourth). not possible once object classified dwarf planet, because there asteroid name, 399 persephone.

with dispute resolved, discovery team proposed eris on september 6, 2006. on september 13, 2006 name accepted official name iau. brown decided that, because object had been considered planet long, deserved name greek or roman mythology, other planets. asteroids had taken vast majority of graeco-roman names. eris, whom brown described favorite goddess, had fortunately escaped inclusion. name in part reflects discord in astronomical community caused debate on object s (and pluto s) classification.

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