The newly discovered planet is named "Xena," and its moon is called "Gabrielle." These names are currently informal and have not been officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The discussion emphasizes the ongoing debate regarding the classification of celestial bodies, particularly concerning Pluto's status as a planet or a Kuiper Belt object. Future research, particularly from NASA's mission to Pluto in 2012, is expected to provide clarity on these classifications.
PREREQUISITESAstronomy enthusiasts, researchers in planetary science, and anyone interested in the classification of celestial bodies and the ongoing debates surrounding them.
What do you mean? There's no official scientific criteria for a "planet", it's not a really a matter that will be settled by new evidence. I guess future research may allow scientists to tell for sure whether these bodies were formed the same way as all the other icy bodies in the Kuiper belt, although I think scientists are already pretty confident they did.vincentm said:The new name of this "planet" is called "Xena" and it's moon is "Gabrielle" personally i think they should've stuck with the catalog name for now until they can determine for sure it is a planet. We will know for sure after the mission to pluto is launched by Nasa in 2012, whether pluto is a planet or not.
Wel i think that scientists will be closer to be able to determine if pluto is a planet or a Kuiper belt oject or not or other bodies for that matter. ... but this has been debated for quite sometime now, so who knows how much longer we are from being able to do so.JesseM said:What do you mean? There's no official scientific criteria for a "planet", it's not a really a matter that will be settled by new evidence. I guess future research may allow scientists to tell for sure whether these bodies were formed the same way as all the other icy bodies in the Kuiper belt, although I think scientists are already pretty confident they did.
But what I mean is, there's no official definition that says something can't be both a planet and a Kuiper belt object...vincentm said:Wel i think that scientists will be closer to be able to determine if pluto is a planet or a Kuiper belt oject or not or other bodies for that matter.
vincentm said:The new name of this "planet" is called "Xena" and it's moon is "Gabrielle" personally i think they should've stuck with the catalog name for now until they can determine for sure it is a planet. We will know for sure after the mission to pluto is launched by Nasa in 2012, whether pluto is a planet or not.
Note that these are just nicknames for now offered by the discovering astronomer. The IAU has not chosen official names yet.