Decoding the Meaning of 2003 UB313: A Discovery from October 21, 2003

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In summary, the name 2003 UB313 is a designation given to the 7827th object discovered in the 2nd half of October in the year 2003. This designation follows a specific scheme where the letter "U" represents the 2nd half of October and the letter "B" represents the 2nd object in the 314th group of 25 objects discovered in this half-month interval. The "3" in the name indicates that it is the 3rd group of 25 objects discovered in the period U, and the "13" indicates that it is the 13th object discovered in this group. However, there is a discrepancy of 4 days between the designated date and the actual date
  • #1
tony873004
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If I understand correctly, the name 2003 UB313 means:

2003 - year of discovery
U - 2nd half of October (A=first half of January, B=2nd half of January, C=first half of February...)
B - the 2nd day in of this half-month interval. U begins on Oct. 16, so UB should be Oct. 17.
3 - The 3rd group of 25 objects discovered in the period U.
13 - The 13th object discovered in the 3rd group of 25 objects in the period U.

But...
The journal paper announcing the discovery says it was discovered in an image taken on October 21, 2003.

Anybody know why the 4 day discrepency?

Sorry for so many questions lately. I'm in my curious mood. :bugeye:
 
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  • #2
I'm beginning to wonder if the B part is correct. It wouldn't make sense that any letter higher than P (value = 16) occupy the place of the 2nd letter. But another NEO, 2006 BQ6 was recently discovered. Am I interpreting the code correctly?
 
  • #3
I figured it out. I think? The website I got my info from got it wrong. B does not mean the 2nd day in the half-month interval. It means the 2nd object in the 314th group of 25 objects discovered in the half-month interval. (The 1st group of 25 objects has no subscript, so a subscript of 1 means the 2nd group). The reason it's groups of 25 and not 26 is because they drop the letter "i".

So B313 means 25*313+B. Since B=2, 25*313+2 = 7827

So UB313 means the 7827th object discovered in the 2nd half of October. That seems a bit high. Wikipedia reports that the rate of asteroid discovery is about 5000 per month. KBOs probably add a few 10s of objects to this. Maybe they were just having a good half-month.

Link explaining the designation scheme here:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/info/OldDesDoc.html [Broken]
 
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What is Designation 2003UB313?

Designation 2003UB313 is the provisional name given to a dwarf planet in our solar system, also known as Eris. It was discovered in 2003 and is located in the Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Neptune.

Why was it given the name "Eris"?

Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord, and the name was chosen to reflect the controversy surrounding its discovery and classification as a dwarf planet.

How big is Designation 2003UB313?

Designation 2003UB313 has a diameter of approximately 2,326 kilometers, making it slightly larger than Pluto. It is currently the ninth largest object in our solar system.

Is Designation 2003UB313 the tenth planet?

At one point, Designation 2003UB313 was considered the tenth planet in our solar system. However, it is now classified as a dwarf planet, along with Pluto and several other objects in the Kuiper Belt.

What is the significance of Designation 2003UB313?

Designation 2003UB313 is significant because it helped lead to the official definition of a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006. Its discovery also sparked a debate about the true definition of a planet and our understanding of our solar system.

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