09, Sep, 2010

Newest Planet Has a Moon

Written by spacetravel.org

Wednesday, 05 October 2005 22:27

On 10 September 2005, researchers using an adaptive optics system on the Keck II telescope discovered that the Solar systems tenth planet, 2003 UB313, has a moon at least one-tenth its size. 2003 UB313 has not been officially designated a planet yet. Its moon is officially designated S/2005 (2003 UB313) 1. Mike Brown, the Caltech astronomer who revealed 2003 UB313 in July, nicknamed it Xena after the television character, and is now calling the moon Gabrielle, after Xenas companion.

Astronomers can use the orbit and period of Gabrielle to calculate the masses of both Xena and Gabrielle, and Gabrielle can provide information about how Xena formed.

Xena and Gabrielle are 97 times further from the Sun than the Earth is. Gabrielle is ten times closer to Xena than our Moon is to Earth. Xenas size is currently estimated to be about 2700 kilometres in diameter, about one-fifth the size of Earth. Gabrielle, about one tenth Xenas size, is about one-eighth the size of our Moon.

< Prev		Next >