The story of Eris, the celestial body presented as the “tenth planet of the solar system”

This January 5 marks the 17th anniversary of the confirmation in 2005 of the discovery of Eris, observed two years earlier for the first time, and which was presented as a possible tenth planet in the solar system.

At first, Eris appeared to be larger than Pluto, a discovery that sparked debate in the scientific community and ultimately led to the International Astronomical Union’s decision in 2006 to

Recent observations indicate that Eris may actually be slightly smaller than Pluto. Pluto, Eris, and other similar objects are now classified as. They are also called plutoids in recognition of Pluto’s special place in our history.

during a Palomar Observatory study of the outer solar system. Its discoverers were Mike Brown, professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology; Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory; and David Rabinowitz of Yale University.

The icy dwarf planet Eris around our Sun. Eris’s plane of orbit is outside the plane of the planets in the solar system and extends well beyond the Kuiper Belt, an area of ​​icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune. .

This dwarf planet is often so far from the Sun that its atmosphere collapses and freezes to the surface like icy enamel. This coating glows brightly and reflects as much sunlight as freshly fallen snow. Scientists believe that. The thin atmosphere will melt in a few hundred years as Eris approaches the Sun, exposing a rocky surface, which scientists believe is similar to Pluto.

Since Eris is too small to be seen clearly, the scientists used its tiny moon Dysnomia to measure it. Dysnomia has a nearly circular orbit that lasts for about 16 days. All the asteroids in the asteroid belt would easily fit inside Eris. However, Eris, like Pluto, is still smaller than Earth’s Moon.

Originally designated (and dubbed the TV warrior Xena by her Discovery Team), Eris is the name of the ancient Greek goddess of discord and strife. The name is explained as Eris remains at the center of a scientific debate about the definition of a planet.

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