Scientists Discover 10th Planet's Moon
By Alicia Chang
Associated Press
posted: 01 October 2005
11:41 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The astronomers who claim to have discovered the
10th planet in the solar system have another intriguing announcement: It
has a moon.
While observing the new, so-called planet from Hawaii last month, a team
of astronomers led by Michael Brown of the California Institute of
Technology spotted a faint object trailing next to it. Because it was
moving, astronomers ruled it was a moon and not a background star, which
is stationary.
The moon discovery is important because it can help scientists determine
the new planet's mass. In July, Brown announced the discovery of an icy,
rocky object larger than Pluto in the Kuiper Belt, a disc of icy bodies
beyond Neptune. Brown labeled the object a planet and nicknamed it
Xena after the lead character in the former TV series "Xena: Warrior
Princess." The moon was nicknamed Gabrielle, after Xena's faithful
traveling sidekick.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ap_051001_newmoon.html
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
