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New Frozen World Found Beyond Pluto
theBrownfury writes "BBC, Sydney Herald, and the Indian Express are reporting a new object, which is one-tenth the diameter of the Earth, and lies well beyond Pluto in an area of the Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. The new world, which has been dubbed Quaoar, is about 1,280 kilometres (800 miles) across. Quaoar orbits the sun ever 288 years and is 1250 Km wide, about the size of all the asteroids combined. This discovery is being hailed as the most important solar system discovery in the past 72 years."
Now you all must die!
"This discovery is being hailed as the most important solar system discovery in the past 72 years."
Not by me.
They called it "Quaoar"? You can't even pronounce it! Here I was hoping they'd have the decencey to name the planet out past Pluto as it should be named.
Goofy.
"However, Quaoar is not an official name - at least not yet. In a few months, the International Astronomical Union, astronomy's governing body, will vote on it."
I vote for CowboyNeal.
Sent from your iPad.
"Quaoar orbits the sun ever 288 years"
Do I perceive a-bit of the ol' Irish accent in ye? Or are ye a pirate be?
come on fhqwhgads
Quaoar
Otherwise known as the Vowel Planet
Table-ized A.I.
My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas Q???
ahh damn now what are we supposed to use to remember the planet order
Dunno, but I've racked my brains for the last five minutes
and I can't think of a single thing we could do with Quaoar (OSLT).
Nope. Zilch. Not a single damn use for another planet.
We still haven't figured out what we're going to do with the current lot.
Perhaps I'm an ignorant barbarian, but how is finding one more planet 'important'?
I mean... surely 'importance' has to have something to do with human aspirations?
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yes, but pluto managed to pull its stock up over $1, so it's still listed.
It's the SCRABBLE PLANET!
Someone just wants to sneak this word into the dictionary so that he can beat his aged grandmother at Scrabble.
This is the only possible reason for the name.
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Support the Vowels For Bosnia campaign!
Best Slashdot Co
For the sake of geekdom everywhere -- If there's a tenth planet out there, it's gotta be called Persephone (I don't think Rupert would go over too well).
(We miss you, Douglas)
Triv
my
p izzas
very
eager
mother
just
served
us
nine
um... quickly?
ah well, i'm sure someone else can come up with something more creative
my last sig was too controversial... now, a new and improved useless sig!
Prot was right! I knew it!
Now I know he was really an alien!
They stuck me in an institution, said it was the only solution, to...protect me from the enemy, myself
Another vote for Qwerty. So easy to type, no wonder it's #1!
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
Film at 11.
Even more astonishing than the planet itself is the fact that the only thing on it is a little French boy with a rose...
Quod scripsi, scripsi.
Quaoar is California Spelling of [an] American Indian [God]
The God of Vowels, no doubt.
(I know I know, I cannot kick this vowel thing.)
Table-ized A.I.
Otherwise known as the Vowel Planet
No, that's Uranus.
Oh wait, I'm sorry, Uranus is the Bowel Planet.
Is there anyone in the astronomical community who can explain the apparent desire to "de-list" Pluto as a planet? It's not like a diving .com stock that NASDAQ can just yank. It seems to fit the accepted definition of "planet" (a non-luminous hunk of something that is larger than an asteroid and orbits the sun only somewhat eccentrically**) even if we later discover it is not even the largest object in the Kuiper Belt. If the line between "big asteroid" and "planet" is arbitrary, why the desire to shift the cutoff and exclude Pluto? It'll have no effect on the planet, just on textbooks and things. Will we have to start referring to it as "The Asteroid Formerly Known As Pluto"?
**Obligatory Dom DeLuise joke here.
You shall see a cow on the roof of a cotton house.
A team of astronomers utilizing the latest technology to scan the outerreaches of the solar system announced today that they had discoverred the solar system's 10th planet.
"We're really pleased to have discoverred the solar system's 10th planet. Only though diligent research methods, including pointing telescopes at lots of different areas of the sky, were we able to make this discovery," said team leader George Randi.
When asked what was most satisfying about the discovery, Randi said "Definitely making the '10th Planet of the Week' website. Almost all of our buddies have discoverred at least one 10th planet, so we were feeling a little left out."
Astronomy buffs are also encouraged to rate the discovery at "scientificornot.com" and "wasteofmoneyornot.com". Said team member Alfred Inglebrot, "Our discovery of the 254,357th asteroid got all ones and a two. We're hoping that finding the new 10th planet will appropriately get us a few tens. At least until someone else discovers the new 10th planet next week."
The discovery was not without controversy, however. A competing russian research team claims they found this week's 10th planet first at 3:04 AM on Sunday, preceding Randi's team's discovery at 9:27 AM bt over 6 hours. "We were robbed," said Alexander Dumivsk. "The Russians are always overlooked in favor of American glory."
The Americans downplayed any controversy. "They can try again next week. Even if we were a little later, our 10th planet is obviously the biggest, and that's certainly more important that precise timing."
paintball
That its "Rupert"
Note that he used a capital K (the computer science kilo = 1024).
1250 Km = 1250*1.024 km = 1280 km. Everything works out.
New DS9 tongue twister:
Quark, Queue me up a Quick Quart of Quaoar
Table-ized A.I.
Mercury: Messenger God.
Venus: Hottie God
Mars: War God
Jupiter: King God
Saturn: Fertility God
Uranus: God of the Sky
Neptune: God of the Sea
Pluto: God of the Dead
Quaoar: God of the Queer
Of course, this information was suppressed by the Romans when they assimilated the Greek gods. The Romans just weren't into 'doing it greek'. Why they left that homo statue David standing is a mystery to me.
It's still a cool discovery
Actually, given the distance from the Sun, I'd say it's a very COLD discovery!
Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
Alien: It's only natural that humans would use a base-10 number system. You have 10 of everything. 10 fingers, 10 toes, 10 planets in your solar system...
Human: Uh, that's nine planets.
Alien: Keep looking.
If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
You're going to bring the wrath of Steve Jobs down on you. It's planet "ten" not "X". Trademark pending, patent pending, soul pending.
What is your favorite pronunciation of Quaoar?
1) kyoo-ohr
2) kway-ohr
3) kwow-ahr
5) kwak-kwak
6) k-pax
7) kow-boi-neel
That's no planet, that's a space station!
Suggestion: Planet Kwyjibo.
Mod Karma -1: I sed bad wurds. If I cep my mouf shut, I wud be at riyses.
It's obvious that this is a Vorlon Planet Killer come to destroy the Earth - Bush convinced them that Al Queda had links to the Shadows.
5. An inept reporter who misspelled 'Quasar'...
4. A new interplanetary CDMA relay station sponsored by Qualcomm...
3. Some drunken Brooklynite...
2. A homophobic astronomer with a southern drawl...
1. Somebody tried to use a non-Roman god but couldn't remember the name of that winged Aztec creature...
Galaphine
So, you must be older than 248 Earth-years then (that's the time Pluto takes to revolve around the sun).
Or wait... you a one-year old kid?
::takes out calculator:: That is absoluetly terrifyi ng.
Why not fork?
We'll have none of that! You leave the facts out of this!
And puts another Stonehenge in my backyard?
Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
1)Retire Proft Joke
2)????
3)PROFIT!
If you worry about it landing on you: asteroid.
"Lord, grant that I may always be right, for Thou knowest that I am hard to turn" -- A Scots-Irish prayer
Moon2.com. If only it were 1999, this would already be funded!!
Mordor...a magical, mythical land where women are more rare than dragons--but where every man would rather find a dragon
Hmm, ten planets. This renders useless all those messages we've sent for aliens to find... the ones where a sun is shown with nine planets orbiting it, and a humanoid figure shown near the third one.
Zok: Hey, this looks like the place from the message, check it out: humanoids, single sun...
Glork: Oh wait though, there are ten planets. Let's keep looking.
Klork: Drat! I was so looking forward to bestowing the technological gift of perfectly realistic virtual porn on yet another race.
- First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
Can we send that Nsync kid up there tomorrow?
If you think