Ankf00
03-16-04, 04:50 AM
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/16/science/space/16SOLA.html?hp
a small portion of the article...
"Far beyond Pluto, out where the Sun is only a pinpoint of pale light, a frozen world has been found on the dark fringes of the solar system. Astronomers say it is by far the most distant object known to orbit the Sun and the largest one to be detected since the discovery of Pluto in 1930.
With one discovery, it seems, the solar system has gotten much bigger, glimpses of its outer reaches bringing a sense of reality to what had been a remote frontier of hypothesis. And perhaps it has gotten stranger, too.
"There's absolutely nothing else like it known in the solar system," Dr. Michael Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who led the discovery team, said of the newfound object.
But in a telephone news conference yesterday from Pasadena, Dr. Brown added, "Our prediction is that there will be many, many more of these objects discovered in the next five years, and some of them will probably be more massive."
The researchers, whose observations were supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said the object, referred to as a planetoid, is extremely frigid (minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and peculiarly red, probably more so than any other body in the solar system except Mars. They are not sure why, and also have few ideas of the object's composition. It could be a primordial mix of rock and ice."
now isn't that something... :eek:
a small portion of the article...
"Far beyond Pluto, out where the Sun is only a pinpoint of pale light, a frozen world has been found on the dark fringes of the solar system. Astronomers say it is by far the most distant object known to orbit the Sun and the largest one to be detected since the discovery of Pluto in 1930.
With one discovery, it seems, the solar system has gotten much bigger, glimpses of its outer reaches bringing a sense of reality to what had been a remote frontier of hypothesis. And perhaps it has gotten stranger, too.
"There's absolutely nothing else like it known in the solar system," Dr. Michael Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology who led the discovery team, said of the newfound object.
But in a telephone news conference yesterday from Pasadena, Dr. Brown added, "Our prediction is that there will be many, many more of these objects discovered in the next five years, and some of them will probably be more massive."
The researchers, whose observations were supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said the object, referred to as a planetoid, is extremely frigid (minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and peculiarly red, probably more so than any other body in the solar system except Mars. They are not sure why, and also have few ideas of the object's composition. It could be a primordial mix of rock and ice."
now isn't that something... :eek: