13 September 2006

23

Via Quibitum, I learn that 2003 UB313, the largest known dwarf planet, previously nicknamed Xena, has been named Eris. I had been pulling for “Proserpina,” which really should have been the name of Pluto's moon Charon, but this is even better.
Eris' discoverer, Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology, said the name was an obvious choice, calling it “too perfect to resist.”
Hail Eris!

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