Hah! The new newest planet is also bigger than the old newest planet:
An icy, rocky world reported last year to be orbiting the Sun in the distant reaches of the Solar System really is bigger than Pluto, scientists say. New observations of the object, which goes by the designation 2003 UB313, show it to have a diameter of some 3,000km - about 700km more than Pluto.This is great. I have always really really hated Pluto. The most extreme...sorry...X-treme planet without really anything to really show for itself. What other ball of methane gets such good press? Anyway, 2003 UB313 or Vulcan or whatever they choose to call it (I prefer "Marzipania" myself...the planet of marzipan) kicks Plutos arse all over town. Soon we will be hearing no more about Pluto than Uranus and that ain't much.
Comments
Gordo - February 2, 2006 10:32 pm
On Daily Planet last night, there was talk of calling it Xena, I kid you not. Silly loser sceince geeks. ;-)
Yesterday afternoon, a producer from Quirks & Quarks was doing his weekly spot on All in a Day on CBC1 and he admitted to what he called a "dirty secret": the International Astronomical Union doesn't have a list of criteria that they refer to when deciding if that ball of methane is a planet or, well, a ball of methane. They decide on each planetary candidate as they're discovered.
Alan - February 2, 2006 11:01 pm
See!
Chris Taylor - February 3, 2006 8:05 am
Uranus will always live on in juvenile word-play... but Pluto doesn't even have that to recommend itself.
Alan - February 3, 2006 8:11 am
Juvenile word play? Wha...what's that about?
Gordo - February 3, 2006 10:39 am
Ask your kids, they'll fill you in. ;-)
alfons - February 3, 2006 7:18 pm
You know that scene from "E.T" about Uranus?
portland - February 6, 2006 6:31 pm
you guys said uranus.