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The Largest Kuiper Belt Object Isn't Pluto Or Eris, But Triton

Posted by Soulskill on from the also-not-a-planet dept.

StartsWithABang writes: Out beyond Neptune, the last of our Solar System's gas giants, the icy graveyard of failed planetesimals lurks: the Kuiper Belt. Among these mixes of ice, snow, dust and rock are a number of worlds — possibly a few hundred — massive enough to pull themselves into hydrostatic equilibrium. The most famous among them are Pluto, the first one ever discovered, and Eris, of comparable size but undoubtedly more massive. But there's an even larger, more massive object from the Kuiper Belt than either of these, yet you never hear about it: it's Triton, the largest moon of Neptune, a true Kuiper Belt object!

61 comments

  1. AHRGhhh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    JUST LEAVE PLUTO ALONE!11

    1. Re:AHRGhhh! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, you forgot to check the Post AC box. Now we know who to modbomb for your stupid-ass yippeee posts.

      Also, you keep misspelling "frsit psot".

    2. Re:AHRGhhh! by AmigaUser8 · · Score: 0

      Yipppeee for you!

  2. Does the rock run Linux? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Funny

    One of these rocks listed in the pictures has "Makemake" for a name. I guess astronomer had one eye on the telescope, mistyping the command to compile the latest Linux kernel on the PC, and figuring out what to name it. That's a better name than "Makeinstall."

    1. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm partial to ./configure

    2. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by WilliamGeorge · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, its name is mythological in origin (like most bodies in our solar system):

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...

      --
      William George
    3. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by St.Creed · · Score: 1

      I personally think "weywot" is an abbreviated version of "wait... what?" - the astronomers exclamation upon discovering the object. It's currently my favorite Kuyper belt object name :)

      --
      Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)
    4. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny, but it's pronounced roughly "ma-ke-ma-ke". Polynesian (specifically Easter Island) god. So named because it was discovered around easter -- it's original code name was Easterbunny.

    5. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by chipschap · · Score: 1

      It also has a certain meaning of "like" in Hawaiian, as in "Makemake au e he`enalu" -- "I like to surf"

    6. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, you haven't heard of the dwarf planet mvncleaninstall have you?

    7. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by AmigaUser8 · · Score: 0

      I'm partial to a power button on my Mac. It. Just. Works.

    8. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by Artifakt · · Score: 1

      Eris and its moon were provisionally Zena and Gabrielle for working names. Sometimes I wish the IAU wasn't so formal. I'm also old enough to remember 70's era suggestions that if successors to Pluto were found, they should be Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and so on. I understand people feeling this is serious, formal, black tie dinner stuff and wanting to keep the humor out, but I keep thinking of how The Culture's starships feel about accusations they need to cultivate more gravitas.
                  It used to be we were respecting Classical Greek and Roman culture with Astronomical naming, even though very few people actually beleived in those names as gods anymore. Then we got less dismissive of various Esquimaux, Nordic, Polynesian and other cultures, but it's still all about religions most people don't believe in anymore, just more inclusive of all the different ones. Being culturally inclusive of all the religions that can't field a modern army but none of the ones that can seems like the least justifiable cultureall sensitivity of all.
                  Meanwhile, the special rituals of my people involve combining large amounts of H2 and O2, compressing Plutonium spheres, and wiggling electrons more and more quickly. Most of the other cultures alive seem to have even odder rituals, like bashing any persons standing too near crude oil sources and taking it, pretending all our wiggling electrons are their real money, or country-western music. If we're going to be absolutley dripping with gravitas, how is it that naming a new object after some other cultures old god or goddess show cultural sensitivity, but naming it after a historic person of their culture doesn't?

      --
      Who is John Cabal?
    9. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      If it runs Windows OTOH it is probably surrounded by normal people.

      As a vulnerability remediation technician, I get paid for consoling hurt computers and fixing broken users. Great job security because the work never ends. Thanks, Microsoft!

    10. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And that's got to be the most painful, repetitive, excruciating computer job out there. Engineers are creative, dummys run vulnerability scans and mindlessly follow the "How to Fix" subtext.

    11. Re:Does the rock run Linux? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      My spreadsheet for this week has 3,000 systems out of 15,000 systems. I ran a script that ran five hours to check the version numbers for the application, which knocked 2,500 systems off the list. Updating the spreadsheet took a better part a day. Another script confirmed that 200 systems were offline. That left 300 systems to fix. I'm trying to develop a script to fix the rest remainder with the least amount of effort. I'll be done in a couple of days. Only a dummy can fix what an engineer has screwed up.

  3. Of course we've heard about it by almitydave · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I hear about it. I remember hearing a while ago that Triton was theorized to be a captured Kuiper belt object. It's one of the "big moons", and it has ice volcanoes. How cool is that?

    Sure, we don't hear about it a lot, because it's so far out, so there isn't a high rate of discovery like planets that have been probed.

    --
    my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
    I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
    1. Re:Of course we've heard about it by almitydave · · Score: 1

      Meant to include a link: http://nineplanets.org/triton.html

      --
      my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
      I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
  4. No it isn't by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Funny

    Triton was a Kuiper belt object. Now it's not.

    How long must the discrimination go on? Surely a billion years is enough to qualify for Neptunian citizenship?

    1. Re:No it isn't by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      As the EU has less money than italy, it has given Triton the mission to drag illegal immigrants out of mediterranean using its gravity.

    2. Re:No it isn't by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      It'll have to settle for Kuiper-Neptunian.

    3. Re:No it isn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, the real issue is that The Man is trying to demote Neptune as a planet. It's all a plot I tell you!

      The Three Letter Agencies are trying to divert attention from the grassy knoll by demoting planets. That way they can spray the chemtrails and the black helicopters can come and take you away to Area 51 and the aliens can anal probe you. Always with the anal probing, but that's the alien's thing and we've gotta keep them happy!

      Otherwise they will invade again and build new pyramids on the ruins of every major Earth city.

      Fight the Power! Fight the Man!

    4. Re:No it isn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hmm yeah.. the blurb made me confused.

      like, it sounds like it's saying that a moon of nepture is in the kuiper belt and not in orbit around neptune - yet it still somehow still being the moon of neptune.

      and "you've never heard of it!" yet the object was discoverd before 1850! surely sounds like someone from fox went to write an all sciencydiency articleaon. ....triton.. that's some shitty ass gfx card shit for you right there though..

    5. Re:No it isn't by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      How long must the discrimination go on? Surely a billion years is enough to qualify for Neptunian citizenship?

      Triton's birth certificate is fake!

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    6. Re:No it isn't by bugnuts · · Score: 1

      That won't work. While it might not be Kuiper belt, Triton is still a trans-neptunian object half the time.

    7. Re:No it isn't by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      Triton was a Kuiper belt object. Now it's not.

      How long must the discrimination go on? Surely a billion years is enough to qualify for Neptunian citizenship?

      The problem is Neptune is in the Kuiper belt, but it is a real planet, a colonist if you like, orbitted by a native.

    8. Re:No it isn't by mooingyak · · Score: 1

      The guy who writes these articles gets excited! Really excited! And he wants to show us all how excited! With exclamation points!

      Name should be "Endswithabang!"

      --
      William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
    9. Re:No it isn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "A modest proposal to control the population of Triton, and feed the citizens of Neptune." by Jonathan Swift the 33rd. and Terrans are all "gosh, you seem so much alike, why don't you get along?"

    10. Re:No it isn't by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      I don't give a fuck and I don't think it should fucking matter. Stupid rule.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  5. The largest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    is that ball of hipster turds that the hipster turd spam gang keeps on spamming.

    Go on, if you want to post your crap so badly, at least do the decent thing and pick a site that's actually readable.

  6. thatsracist.gif by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No dumbass, it was named by an Asian person and that's how they talk. They makemake and suckesucke long time.

  7. Clockwise Question. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is Triton "falling" toward Neptune? Will it be slowed by whatever situation causes counterclockwise motion?

    1. Re:Clockwise Question. by mister_playboy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Triton's orbit is not stable. Its orbit is decaying and it will eventually be ripped apart by tidal forces as it approaches Neptune. This may result in a extensive ring system similar to Saturn's.

      --
      Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
    2. Re:Clockwise Question. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Triton's orbit is not stable because it had too much to drink. So it is a bit wobbly.

    3. Re:Clockwise Question. by cjameshuff · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's the other way around, the retrograde (which is only "counterclockwise" when viewed from one side) motion causes tidal drag which causes the orbit to decay.

      Tidal forces produce bulges on large objects, and the resulting non-spherical shape allows gravity to apply torque to objects and transfer angular momentum between their rotation and their orbital revolution. This tends to bring rotation and orbital revolution into sync: it locked the moon's rotation to its orbit around the Earth, and the reverse process transferred angular momentum from Earth's rotation to the moon's orbit, slowing the Earth's rotation and pulling the moon to a higher orbit. Triton happened to be captured on the "wrong" side of Neptune and end up in a retrograde orbit, so the same tidal drag is pulling it into a lower orbit.

      Phobos is in a similar situation despite having a prograde orbit: it's low enough that it orbits faster than Mars rotates (appearing from the surface to cross the sky in the opposite direction as Deimos), so the tidal drag that is pulling the more distant and slower-orbiting Deimos into an even higher orbit is pulling Phobos into a lower one.

    4. Re:Clockwise Question. by Mal-2 · · Score: 1

      Phobos is in a similar situation despite having a prograde orbit: it's low enough that it orbits faster than Mars rotates (appearing from the surface to cross the sky in the opposite direction as Deimos), so the tidal drag that is pulling the more distant and slower-orbiting Deimos into an even higher orbit is pulling Phobos into a lower one.

      In other words, Phobos orbits below the level of an areosynchronous orbit and outruns its own tidal bulge, which means this tidal bulge pulls back on it. (I just wanted an excuse to use the word "areosynchronous".)

      --
      How is the Riemann zeta function like Trump rallies? Both have an endless number of trivial zeros.
  8. no? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Triton orbits Neptune. if any object, regardless of orbit, passing through the Kuiper belt "region" is a Kuiper belt object, then i would argue that Neptune is the largest Kuiper belt object.

  9. Nibiru by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought Nibiru was the largest former Oort cloud Kuiper belt object soon to be Asteroid belt object?

  10. you give the Devil an inch by The+Larch · · Score: 1

    wow, these Big Kuiper Belt bosses just do whatever they please

    at this rate, I predict half the planets and several Middle Eastern nations will be designated KBOs by the year 2025

    1. Re:you give the Devil an inch by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      And if Nemesis exists it may toss any of them back into the Kuiper belt.

    2. Re:you give the Devil an inch by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      As a newly-appointed Kuiper Belt Object, I am offended by that!

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  11. no? by Tacos4Sanchez · · Score: 1

    No. Triton is at least three times as big as Neptune. Neptune only appears larger due to matter.

  12. Re:That's no moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's urectum

    Rectum? Damn near Killdum!

  13. slightly off topic... by segwonk · · Score: 1

    How do you pronounce "Kuiper?"

    Is it like "cooper?"
    Or is it like "kiper" - rhymes with hyper?

    --
    - ------ Go 'til ya know.
    1. Re:slightly off topic... by Slagothor · · Score: 1

      It rhymes with "hyper".

    2. Re:slightly off topic... by ballpoint · · Score: 1

      How do you pronounce "Kuiper?"

      Is it like "cooper?"
      Or is it like "kiper" - rhymes with hyper?

      None of the above.

      Take the 'eh' sound in the very beginning of 'earth', keep it completely flat and put it at the + marks in k+p+r, the first for 100ms and the second for 20ms.

      You won't be too far off, though your final 'r' will still give you away.

      --
      Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
    3. Re:slightly off topic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is incorrect (source: I'm Dutch). The dutch "ui" vowel/sound does not exist in English and consequently cannot be explained (to an english person, using the english language) in written text without referencing non-english words. The sound you describe is correct for the 'e' in Kuiper, but not at all for the 'ui'.

      Probably the best internationally known Dutch 'ui' sound is in the last name of the football player Johan Cruyff, which despite its strange spelling is pronounced as 'kruif'. However no english speaker has ever pronounced that name correctly either, they usually turn it into something soundling like 'kroiff', so that only helps you if you heard it say by a Dutch person :) And of course, on slashdot the name Kuiper might actually be better known than Cruyff. However you should be able to find some dutch language youtube videos mentioning Cruyff, just use that 'uy' sound in the place of the 'ui' in Kuiper.

      Interestingly, "ui" itself is, aside from a vowel that doesn't exist in english, also a proper Dutch word. It means 'onion'.

  14. Not the Frist Psot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is not the first post! Yippeeee!!!!

    1. Re:Not the Frist Psot by AmigaUser8 · · Score: 0

      YEA!!! GO USA! GO USA!

    2. Re:Not the Frist Psot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yippeeee!

    3. Re:Not the Frist Psot by AmigaUser8 · · Score: 0

      Bring it On!!!! USA!!!

    4. Re:Not the Frist Psot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My country will conquer your asteroid!
      Shock and Awe!

      USA! USA! USA!

  15. Construction Shack by Clifford D Simak by david999 · · Score: 0

    A manned expedition to Pluto finds it's not a planet, but a hollow metal sphere.

    Excerpt: "Pluto never was a planet."
    "Then this means there once actually was a planet between Mars and Jupiter," said Orson. "Not necessarily," Tyler told him. "It may only mean there was supposed to be."

    "What do you mean?"

    "They bungled the job," said Tyler. "They did a sloppy piece of engineering."

    "They messed up the projected fifth planet," Tyler said. "God knows what else they messed up. Venus, maybe. Venus shouldn't be the kind of planet it is. It should be another Earth, perhaps a slightly warmer Earth, but not the hellhole it is. And Mars. They loused that up, too. Life started there, but it never had a chance. It hung on and that was all. And Jupiter, Jupiter is a monstrosityÃ""

    "Look here," he was yelling. "Look here, the bunglersÃ""

    1. Re:Construction Shack by Clifford D Simak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't get it.

      USA! USA!!

  16. Is this really astronomy today? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Astronomy seems to be about semantically categorizing microplanets. Who gives a fuck?

  17. Reminds me of... by mark_reh · · Score: 1

    Lime and limpid green, a second scene
    A fight between the blue you once knew.
    Floating down, the sound resounds
    Around the icy waters underground.
    Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda
    And Titania, Neptune, Titan.
    Stars can frighten.

    Blinding signs flap,
    Flicker, flicker, flicker blam. Pow, pow.
    Stairway scare Dan Dare who's there?
    Lime and limpid green
    The sounds surrounds the icy waters underground
    Lime and limpid green
    The sounds surrounds the icy waters underground.