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"Xena" To Be Named Eris

rdwald writes, "After over a year of hanging in maybe-planet limbo, newly-classified 2003 UB313, nicknamed Xena, now has a permanent name: Eris, goddess of strife. Its moon will be named Dysnomia, after the goddess of lawlessness — in Greek mythology, Eris's daughter — certainly not a reference there... I don't think I'm alone when I say, 'Hail Eris! All hail Discordia!'" In the same IAU announcement (PDF), Pluto was given its official minor planet number: 134340.

36 of 167 comments (clear)

  1. DNA said it best by MichaelSmith · · Score: 3, Funny

    You cant use that popular name. We will give it our own name so that you know that its ours, not yours.

    Or something like that. My copy is upstairs and I can't be bothered to check.

  2. I think UB313 was way cooler as a planetoid name by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Sounds more like a "film noir" or an old german submarine. Eris? It'll immediately be confused with Eros. UB313! UB313! UB313!

  3. Why not Xena? by Bob_Villa · · Score: 5, Funny

    She was a great 'warrior' in her own right, I loved watching her show.
    Especially those outfits, that was one of the best parts. I can never get my wife to wear things like that.

    You will be missed, Xena.

    1. Re:Why not Xena? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Because naming a planet Xena was too difficult - it would have been much easier for the scientists involved to simply tattoo the word "loser" to their foreheads.

    2. Re:Why not Xena? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Get the connection???

      Xena -> Lucy Lawless -> Goddess of Lawlessness

    3. Re:Why not Xena? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      GOLLY, I totally didn't get that from the obvious wording of sarcasm indicating there was a connection. Thanks! If you hadn't pointed that out, I'm sure nobody else would have gotten it! (Note: Please don't point out the sarcasm in this post. I prefer when people who can't detect sarcasm don't get it pointed out to them. They'll never be the wiser! Wait, you mean they can read this aside too? Sonufa...)

    4. Re:Why not Xena? by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe it was just Xenophobia why they chose another name.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    5. Re:Why not Xena? by Ikcor · · Score: 2

      The best part of using Xena was the moon was nicknamed Gabrielle.

  4. First planet named after an IRC network! by Tillmann · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hi,

    sweet! First planet named after an IRC network!
    Long live EFnet!

    bye,
    Till

    1. Re:First planet named after an IRC network! by Random832 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      the EF in EFnet stands for "Eris free" - in the sense of "without Eris". There was a misconfigured server called eris.berkeley.edu and a bunch of server admins got together to make a new network so they could ban it.

      --
      We've secretly replaced Slashdot with new Folgers Crystals - let's see if it notices.
    2. Re:First planet named after an IRC network! by irc.goatse.cx+troll · · Score: 4, Informative

      "misconfigured" is a bit inaccurate, it was a deliberate configuration to allow anyone to do whatever they wanted (open C/N lines -- Anyone could link anything they wanted as a server). Eris would have been proud.

      --
      Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Funny

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  6. That's no moon... by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...it's a giant golden apple!

    Kallisti!

    --
    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
    You cannot wash away blood with blood
  7. So... by trav242 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Does Hagbard know about this? Well, I guess Gold & Appel Transfers will be getting into the space-race too.

  8. Hail Eris :) by kyknos.org · · Score: 3, Informative

    I will run my ddate programm to celebrate it :)

    Today is Boomtime, the 38th day of Bureaucracy in the YOLD 3172

    --

    SHE does throw dice.
  9. Re:Monty Python by th77 · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Are all your planets called Eris?"

    --
    Your favorite sig sucks
  10. Hail Eris by PakProtector · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hail Eris, full of Taste, the IAU is with thee.
    Funky art thou among Goddesses, and Blessed is the Golden Apple of thy planet, Eris.
    Holy Eris, She who Dunnit, pray for all us humans now, and in the lifetime of our confusion.
    Fnord.

    --

    Edward@Tomato - /home/Edward/ man woman
    man: no entry for woman in the manual.
    "Qua!?"

  11. Kind of an appropriate name by miro+f · · Score: 4, Insightful

    given the strife and discord its discovery created within the land of astronomers

    --
    being vague is almost as cool as doing that other thing...
  12. Re:Spectacles, testicles, brandy, cigars by Corf · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm a pope. I've got the laminated card to prove it. You can have one too.

    --
    The pain was excruciating and the scarring is likely permanent, but that just means it's working.
  13. Re:You are alone by Shaper_pmp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Indeed, Kierthos.

    There are plenty of Discordians around, especially on Slashdot. It's just that whenever someone instructs a Discordian to "all hail Eris", most Discordian's first instincts are to do the opposite. Kind of goes with the territory.

    Happily, there are also those like Kierthos, who even rebel against the disorder prevalent in Discordianism[1].

    All Hail Discordia!

    (Hah!)

    --
    Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
  14. Strife and Discord - Xena connection after all! by Nick+Gisburne · · Score: 4, Informative

    I suspect that the astronomer who wanted Xena and Gabrielle to be the names of the planet and its companion has still got his Xenaphile way - Strife and Discord were two very prominent characters in many of the Xena episodes. Usually associated with Ares, the God of War who of course already has his own planet, Mars (the Roman version). The trio is united!

    --
    Watch my YouTube atheist video blog (user NickGisburne2000) for arguments against religion
  15. 134340 by the_other_one · · Score: 3, Funny

    I am not a number. I am a free planet!

    --
    134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
  16. Objection! by transami · · Score: 3, Insightful

    These are Greek names, not Roman!

    Moreover, the person who discovered them should have every right to name them wahtever he/she wants. Elitism is unacceptable.

    --
    :T:R:A:N:S:
    1. Re:Objection! by whitehatlurker · · Score: 2, Informative
      Discordia is the Latin counterpart for the Greek Eris.

      Dysnomia is Greek, but I've forgotten the name of the Latin counterpart.

      --
      .. paranoid crackpot leftover from the days of Amiga.
    2. Re:Objection! by Tim+the+Gecko · · Score: 2, Informative
      Moreover, the person who discovered them should have every right to name them wahtever he/she wants
      Herschel originally named Uranus "George's star" in honor of King George III of Great Britain. Let's go back to the name he wanted, and make a thousand Slashdot comments obsolete!
  17. so now... by Nicaboker · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear Earth,

          Pleas do not take this letter as me being bitter but I must say I am rather upset. I have been there with you during the good times and the bad. I know I am smaller than most other planets, but I never thought you would reject me for it. We've been friends for so many years and now you no longer wish to call me a Planet. Just know that when the astroid comes flying towards you I wont be there to try and stop it anymore. I guess what I'm trying to say is... SCREW YOU!!

    Pluto

    P.S. Eris, you suck too

    --
    So many choices, so little tolerance.
  18. Re:Monty Python by Mateo_LeFou · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Are all your planets called Eris?"

    There's nothing so odd about that; Kemil Attaturk had an entire Solar System called Abdan.

    --
    My turnips listen for the soft cry of your love
  19. Strife and lawlessness, perfect names for the time by elrous0 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Eris, goddess of strife. Its moon will be named Dysnomia, after the goddess of lawlessness

    Why did the image of Iraq suddenly flash through my head as I read this?

    -Eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  20. Re:Monty Python by Eccles · · Score: 4, Funny

    This isn't a planet license; this is a Kuiper Belt object license with the words "Kuiper Belt" crossed out and the word "planet" written in in crayon.

    --
    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  21. Follows the Law of Fives by LargeWu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How appropriate. The Law of Fives states that all things happen in fives, or multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly related to the number five.

    If you add up the digits in the name (2003 UB313, u=21 and b = 2), it adds up to 32, and then if you add up those digits in 32, 3 + 2 = 5. Also, there are 5 non-zero digits in the name of the planet.

    Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!

  22. Re:Not popular?!?! by crawling_chaos · · Score: 3, Funny
    I'm sure the goddesses of strife and lawlessness were widely worshipped by ancient Greek and Roman hooligans, rioters, lynch-mobs and criminals in general.

    We'd have to trace both the Bush and Kennedy family trees back that far to be sure though.

    --
    You can only drink 30 or 40 glasses of beer a day, no matter how rich you are.
    -- Colonel Adolphus Busch
  23. lawless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    obviously Xena is the goddess of lucy lawlessness

  24. A matter of time by CopaceticOpus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's too soon for a planet named Xena. You've got to give it about 1000 years, when the lens of history has changed the common understanding of Xena from "television warrior bimbo" to "goddess of war worshipped at the start of the last millenium."

  25. Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia! by giblfiz · · Score: 4, Informative
    Its good to know that we Discordians have the pull in the scientific community that one would exspect us to.


    ON PRAYER
    Mal-2 was once asked by one of his Disciples if he often prayed to Eris. He replied with these words:

    No, we Erisians seldom pray, it is much too dangerous. Charles Fort has listed many factual incidences of ignorant people confronted with, say, a drought, and then praying fervently -- and then getting the entire village wiped out in a torrential flood.

            "Of course I'm crazy, but that doesn't mean I'm wrong. I'm mad but not ill"
     
  26. Pronounciation by franksands · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have a doubt: How do say 'Eris' instead of 'Ares'? I think this is why she is the goddess of discord, no one knows how to pronounce her name without confusing with her father's, and it must piss her off :P

  27. Pluto is still Pluto by argent · · Score: 2, Funny

    Pluto is still Pluto.

    Just because it has a number doesn't make the name go away. Let's see... I like the "Jelly Sandwich":

    Mother Very Thoughtfully Makes A Jelly Sandwich Using No Persimmons... Everyday.

    (Earnestly if you don't care for 'Terra')

    (Jelly Sandwiches instead of A Jelly Standwich to keep the Asteroids out)