Hail Eris!

Astronomers name 'world of chaos'

The distant world whose discovery prompted leading astronomers to demote Pluto from the rank of "planet" has now been given its own official name.

Having caused so much consternation in the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the object has been called Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord.

Source.

No doubt, this will please followers of Discordianism greatly.

Fnord.



[edit on 14/9/06 by Implosion]

I know there has to be a reason why they took Pluto out of the line up...I just haven't had a chance to look into it yet. If you find anything more..post it.
Thanks

Originally posted by jensouth31
If you find anything more..post it.

A little info about Eris:

Eris (officially designated 136199 Eris), is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. Previously designated 2003 UB313, it was initially nicknamed "Xena" by its discoverers. It is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO), orbiting the Sun in a region of space known as the Kuiper Belt, and accompanied by at least one moon, Dysnomia. Mike Brown, who led the Mount Palomar-based discovery team, announced in April 2006 that the Hubble Telescope has measured Eris' diameter to be 2400 km, slightly larger than Pluto.

Eris's size resulted in its discoverers and NASA labelling it the solar system's tenth planet. This, along with the prospect of other similarly sized objects being discovered in the future, stimulated the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term "planet" more precisely. Under a new definition approved on August 24, 2006, Eris was designated a "dwarf planet". Brown has since stated his approval of the new "dwarf planet" label.

Source.

Thank god they didn't keep the name "Xena". If Lucy Lawless, of all the actors and actresses on Earth, had a planet named after her character, I'd be

I mean, if anything, they shoulda chosen Sam Ramee's best character, Ash.

Originally posted by Implosion

No doubt, this will please followers of Discordianism greatly.

Fnord.

[edit on 14/9/06 by Implosion]

I read this in the paper fnord and thought exactly the same thing.

Was it because of the argy-bargy with Pluto?



[edit on 15-9-2006 by fingapointa]

I have to admit, I don't see much news that makes me happy these day, but this story left me with a big fat smile on my face.

Was it because of the argy-bargy with Pluto?

I think that was a large factor when it came to choosing a name:

As Eris is larger than Pluto, it was initially described as the "tenth planet" by NASA and in media reports of its discovery. In response to the uncertainty over its status, and because of continuing debate over whether Pluto should be classified as a planet, the IAU delegated a group of astronomers to develop a new definition of the term planet. This definition was clarified under the new International Astronomical Union definition of a planet, adopted on 24 August 2006. Eris has been termed a dwarf planet by the IAU.

Source.

Eris obviously a fitting name for an object that has caused such a fuss.

For those who don't know the story:

Eris ("Strife") is the goddess personifying that quality, her name being translated into Latin as Discordia.

The most famous tale of Eris ("Strife") recounts her initiating the Trojan War. The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite had been invited along with the rest of Olympus to the forced wedding of Peleus and Thetis, who would become the parents of Achilles, but Eris had been snubbed because of her troublemaking inclinations.

She therefore (in a fragment from the Kypria as part of a plan hatched by Zeus and Themis) tossed into the party the Apple of Discord, a golden apple inscribed Kallisti – "For the most beautiful one", or "To the Prettiest One" – provoking the goddesses to begin quarreling about the appropriate recipient. The hapless Paris, Prince of Troy, was appointed to select the most beautiful. Each of the three goddesses immediately attempted to bribe Paris to choose her. Hera offered political power; Athena promised skill in battle; and Aphrodite tempted him with the most beautiful woman in the world: Helen, wife of Menelaus of Sparta. While Greek culture placed a greater emphasis on prowess and power, Paris choose to award the apple to Aphrodite, thereby dooming his city, which was destroyed in the war that ensued.

Source.

Originally posted by thelibra
Thank god they didn't keep the name "Xena". If Lucy Lawless, of all the actors and actresses on Earth, had a planet named after her character, I'd be

An interesting little synchronicity regarding Eris and Xena pointed out by astrologer Jonathan Cainer:

The Astronomers have spoken. New discovery, dwarf planet UB313 must no longer be nicknamed Xena. She is now "Eris" after the Greek goddess of Discord. Her Moon is to be called "Dysnomia" after the goddess of lawlessness. By strange coincidence, Xena the Warrior Princess was played on TV by Lucy Lawless and "Discord" was one of the characters in the series. They just can't quite seem to shake off that connection.

Source.

Originally posted by Implosion
Hail Eris!

All Hail Discordia!

Now, if only that planetoid had 5 moons, or some such.

Eris - initially given the codename "Xena" after a TV character - was discovered on 8 January, 2005, at the Palomar Observatory in California.

Ah, that planetoidthingy. Well, jolly good job on the name. Lot better than that Sedna crap.


Maybe they should just say 'those things that all ancient humans called 'planets', they're the planets. That'd make the most sense. Forget about mass or trajectory, etc, just say 'if its not fixed in position, but mostly allways there, and visible to the naked eye, its a 'planet' ".

The "new" Solar System agreed at the IAU's General Assembly has eight planets - Mercury to Neptune - and at least three dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris and the largest asteroid in the Solar System, Ceres.

Now that works out nicely.

[edit on 17-9-2006 by Nygdan]

I won't be happy until we get a planet named after Hagbard Celine.

And one that looks like a big golden Apple with "Kallisti" written on it.

Maybe we'll just remain the sun from Sol to Celine, and then, we're ALL in the Celinian System!

Check out the name of the moon. Dysnomia Daimon of Lawlessness. en.wikipedia.org... Saw it refered to as spirit of lawlessness in an AP/Yahoo article.

All Hail Discordia!

It's about time the Goddess be recognized!

Never believe anything you read.

This is great.

Very appropriate to the circumstances, and definitely a grin for we Discordians.

Implosion, keep it up with the 23s thread, it seems to be working.



[edit on 19-9-2006 by The Parallelogram]