[meteorite-list] TWO new Kuiper belt objects today?

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi, Everybody

    Actually, it's not two new bodies today, it's THREE!

    Yes, there was confusion, proving that even the best science journalists in the world (New
Scientist, Space.com, etc.) get things as muddled as the cub reporter from Podunk, Iowa. The
announcements were hasty and pre-emptory and rushed.

    Getcher programs! Can't tell the planets without a program!  Here they are:


1. 2003 UB313 @ 97 AU
    Twice as big as Pluto (diameter)
     Orbit inclined at 44 degrees
     Period 560 years
     Very bright object, Magnitude 18.9
     Discoverer: Brown

2.  2005 EL61 @ 51 AU
     0.70 as big as Pluto (diameter)
     Orbit inclined at ?? degrees
     Period ??? years
     Also bright object, seen in 12" scope by amateurs
          within hours of announcement
     Has a moon 1% of primary mass in 49-day orbit
     Discoverer: Ortiz; Moon discovered by Brown
     who had also discovered the primary
     but did not announce first

3.  2005 FY9 @ ?? AU
     "less than" the diameter of Pluto but not by too much
     Orbit inclined at ?? degrees
     Period ??? years
     Also pretty bright for a KBO
     Discoverer: Brown

    Throw in Sedna and Qoaoar or whatever the dam thing is called and I make it we're up to 14 planets.
(You call'em planets and I'll learn their names!)
    The announcements were rushed because "somebody" was accessing Brown's telescope logs (they're on
the net available) and had noted where he had re-pointed (for verification) and used those positions to
rought out orbits and go after the objects themselves, since Brown was going to sit on the discoveries
for a long time before announcing. Hey! EVERYBODY wants to find a planet, and you get no credit for
being the second to announce; only one winner per race.

    More will become clear soon, I hope.

    2005 UB313 is so bright that it should have been discovered long ago. (Neptune [1848] is Mag 8,
Pluto [1930]is 13.8, 2005UB313 is 18.9.) Why didn't anybody find it?
    It's a selection effect. That is, NOBODY LOOKING in the right place (like I'm always harping about
in the case of intra-Earth orbit asteroids, etc. Don't look and you won't find.
    I'm sure Planet 15 will have a high inclination, too. And 16, and 17, and...


Sterling K. Webb
--------------------------------------------------------------
Darren Garrison wrote:

> Were there two KBOs announced today, or just one under two numbers?  There seems to be confusion on
> the point

> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ron Baalke wrote
___________
Some new info direct from Mike Brown:

o 2003 UB313 is larger then Pluto in diameter, but no larger than twice Pluto's diameter
o Based on Spitzer measurements 2005 FY9 is confirmed to be smaller than Pluto
o Attempts to measure 2003 UB313 with Spitzer did not yield any useful data
o The satellite around 2003 EL61 has a 49-day orbital period
o The surface of 2003 UB313 is similar to Pluto, and it has methane
o They had intended to announce their discoveries in a couple of months, but their
  website was hacked into, which prompted them to announce them today.