Phew! I was worried that 2003 UB313 was going to be stuck with the name of Xena, but the IAU just announced that it will be named Eris. This is an interesting choice; Eris was the goddess of strife and discord (the Roman equivalent is Discordia), continuing the trend that the outer planets will be named after evil (or at least badly acting) gods.
The moon of Eris, formerly known as Gabrielle, is now Dysnomia, the goddess of lawlessness.
Mind the pun here: Xena was played by Lucy Lawless! Man, that’s funny. That must have been on purpose. I’ll have to track that down. Update (Sep. 14):Yup, it’s no coincidence. I did call Mike Brown, who discovered Eris, but have not heard back from him yet. If I get a good quotation from him I’ll blog about it.
For what it’s worth, I think it should have been named Persephone, who spends six months out of every year in Hades with Pluto (one of my favorite myths, and the reason I first tasted a pomegranate, in third grade). Really, Pluto’s moon Charon should have been named Persephone, but it’s too late for that.
Anyway, in that announcement also came the news that Pluto, along with Eris and the asteroid Ceres, are officially dwarf planets. This means Pluto can be given an official minor planet number, and it has: 134340. The announcement cryptically mentions "…two other new potential dwarf-planet candidates" and I’m not sure which they mean. Possibly Charon, Pluto’s moon is one, but the other is not identified. Ceres? It already has a number: 1 (it was the very first asteroid/dwarf planet discovered, back in 1801). So I need to track that down as well… I’m posting this in a hurry to get the word out, and I don’t have all the info yet.
So if you hate the fact that Pluto was "demoted" — whatever that means — then this is salt in the wound, I suppose. My own opinions are a matter of record.
Tip o’ the Centurion helmet to Larry Klaes for the news.
September 13th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Hey, my buddy Rebecca over at SkepChick just added this to her blog too.
September 13th, 2006 at 8:46 pm
I’m sure I’m not the first to say this, but…
Praise Eris!
September 13th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
I think Eris is a VERY appropriate choice. When you think about it, the planetary community was comfortable (if grudgingly so) with calling Pluto a planet — right up to the discovery of 2003 UB313. So Eris shows up on the scene, and “strife and discord” result — a perfect fit!
If you follow the link to Rebecca’s post, the story of Eris & Paris is just the icing on the cake — at least in the sense that Eris forced Paris to make a choice that resulted in all Hell breaking loose. Now if the recent IAU meeting had just been in Paris (instead of Prague), everything would have been *perfect* (but then, that’d be asking too much of a simple metaphor).
Lorne
September 13th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
Hmmm…. what? Astronomy? Blog, you say? Lucy Lawless in wet leather trumps all else in this case.
All hail Discordia!
September 13th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Oh yes, finally! And what a great choice of name. Xena was just so silly and inappropriate.
September 13th, 2006 at 9:04 pm
Not to sow the seeds of discord (
), but as my Latin teacher in high school used to point out, the more appropriate name would be Proserpina (the Roman form) rather than Persephone.
But Eris is quite appropriate at the moment, i think. Perhaps we can save Proserpina/Persephone for a surface feature on Pluto, should we ever get the chance to explore it with a spacecraft.
September 13th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
Hail Eris! All Hail Discordia!
Truly, this is a day for the Paratheoanametamystichood of Eris Esoteric (POEE) to rejoice. (In other words, Discordians)
More seriously, I will be giggling over this for days.
September 13th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Oh no, that means astrology will have to change again!
September 13th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
I can say without exaggeration that this is the most awesome thing which has happened within the last three months. Period. There’s no debate; the IAU has won.
September 13th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Thank God no more Xena!
September 13th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
[...] Well, at least that was until they decided to TAKE AWAY PLUTO’S NAME. WTF? So, please Mr It’s-Not-A-Planet-Just-A-No-Name-Dwarf Astronomer, what am I supposed to use for my mnemonic now? Huh? [...]
September 13th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
The answer to the perennial question of “what mnemonic should I use now” is patently obvious to any fan of the Family Guy TV series. “Are you sure my very excited mother just sent us nine puppies? Are you sure my very excited mother [didn't] just send us NOTHING?”
September 13th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
I’m sorry, but my telescope will be spending more time searching for Lucy Lawless than 2003 UB313.
That’s just the way we old people roll.
September 14th, 2006 at 12:10 am
The BA wrote: “For what it’s worth, I think it should have been named Persephone…”
Don’t worry. There’s so much stuff out there, I’m sure in a few years someone will spot another dwarf planet and Persephone will have a shot.
September 14th, 2006 at 12:15 am
Pluto was given the number 134340? Who’s his cellmate? Sounds like he wasn’t just demoted but also condemned.
September 14th, 2006 at 1:01 am
So Eris it is… Heh. i suggested that name a while back in the comments of this this very blog.
September 14th, 2006 at 2:16 am
[...] “Xena No-More“. Finalmente o 2003 UB 313 tem um nome definitivo, e que leva a algumas considerações curiosas. No Bad Astronomy; [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 2:30 am
“But Eris is quite appropriate at the moment, i think. Perhaps we can save Proserpina/Persephone for a surface feature on Pluto, should we ever get the chance to explore it with a spacecraft.”
Check this. Only nine years to go… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons
September 14th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Ummm … Pluto is a secret agent now?
(Actually, it didn’t lose its name, just gained the number as well, right?)
September 14th, 2006 at 3:46 am
But now when we refer to it, we must quote the number first?
It no longeer is just Pluto?
September 14th, 2006 at 4:09 am
[...] I was hoping Xena would become the official name, but sadly the IAU has just officially officially named it Eris, after the greek goddess of strife. However, the Bad Astronomer points out that the moon is called Dysnomia – the child of Eris and god of lawlessness. Xena was played by Lucy Lawless…Could be a coincidence, but probably not [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 4:17 am
An official name, at last!
Back tracking a bit, I feel that rather than “define” a planet, they should’ve done the same to Pluto as was done with Ceres when the astroids were first discovered; place it in a new class of objects and leave it at that.
Hmm, Eris. Not bad.
September 14th, 2006 at 4:18 am
Xena kicked to the curb too……
Well, my suggested name of Tiberius didn’t fly, but they did decide the name of 2003UB313, and it will be Eris – the goddess of strife and discord. The little moon of that object will be named Dysnomia – the…
September 14th, 2006 at 4:36 am
=====
or what it’s worth, I think it should have been named Persephone, who spends six months out of every year in Hades with Pluto
====
Come on BA, you should know better!
Hades (Greek) IS Pluto (Roman). The Greek underworld – ruled by Hades – was divided into the Elysian Fields (for the “good” guys and gals) and Tartarus (for the “bad” folks).
September 14th, 2006 at 5:01 am
Kaptain K is correct. It should be:
who spends six months out of every year in the underworld with Hades
September 14th, 2006 at 5:56 am
As long as we’re correcting the Greek/Roman stuff, I believe you will find that Persephone is the Greek name; “Proserpina” is the Roman equivalent.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:13 am
Surely Pluto should have been the zeroth dwarf plant. Oh well.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:29 am
Thank you, IAU, for ridding us of that awful unofficial name!
September 14th, 2006 at 6:36 am
I think this is all very fascinating. Perhaps I’m in the minority in that the demotion of Pluto to “dwarf planet” status didn’t really bother me much. I’m 47, I have every right to sentimental about Pluto, but science is always progressing, and the more plantary objects we discover, the more our definitions of such things will have to be revised. How small can a gas giant be, for example? Can there be an upper limit to size of rocky, watery worlds? We will always be learning these things.
So what if Eris and Pluto and Quaoar and Ceres are “dwarf planets?” That will never diminish the fact that they are unique and fascinating and mysterious worlds in their own right. I hope I’m still alive when New Horizons reaches Pluto in 2015.
In the meantime, I understand that the Cassini orbiter will be flying within 100 miles of the surface of water-spewing Enceladus this coming March. Who knows what wonders might be then revealed?
September 14th, 2006 at 6:37 am
Calm down, kids. Hades is often used as the name of the underworld, in addition to being the Greek god that hangs out there.
September 14th, 2006 at 6:42 am
Cool, my oldest daughter is named Eris! Won’t she be happy when she’s old enough to understand.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:20 am
This is good, xena (the show) never had any respect for the mythology it was based on, and should not be credited in this way.
Eris is played by a man and Calllisto by a woman for example. Thats like naming your son Sally and your daughter Ronald.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:28 am
Hi BadAstronomer,
“Mind the pun here: Xena was played by Lucy Lawless! Man, that’s funny. That must have been on purpose. I’ll have to track that down.”
Yes it was deliberate. See here: http://skytonight.com/news/home/3916126.html
“The satellite, now called Dysnomia, is named for Eris’s daughter, the goddess of lawlessness — a tribute, says Brown, to the actress to who played Xena, Warrior Princess: Lucy Lawless.”
September 14th, 2006 at 7:43 am
“Thats like naming your son Sally and your daughter Ronald.”
Well, I know guys named Hollie, Robin and Dana, and a lady named Richard. Though if you call her Richard instead of Taffy, she’ll beat the snot out of you. (And if you snicker when you call my grandfather Hollie, his ghost will make life miserable for you…)
So you mean I really should have paid more attention to those artsy-fartsy classes I took back in Engineering school? You mean it’s really relevant to nerds like engineers and astronomers? Whoodathunkit?!?
September 14th, 2006 at 7:53 am
[...] Read what the “Bad Astronomer” writes about it. [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 7:55 am
New mnemonic: My very exotic mistress just showed up now.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:59 am
“The announcement cryptically mentions “…two other new potential dwarf-planet candidates” and I’m not sure which they mean. Possibly Charon, Pluto’s moon is one, but the other is not identified. Ceres?”
They probably are referring to 200EL61 and 2005 FY9 which recieved numbers the same time as Pluto. With the controversy last year over the discovery of 2003 EL61 I wonder who has the naming rights.
September 14th, 2006 at 7:59 am
Damn, I liked Xena. And I haven’t even been eating those cookies at Berkeley, either.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:05 am
So, when do we get close up pics and samples of Ceres? I just like the idea that it could someday be the hub of an asteroid civilization,,,all that nickle/iron,,,
GAry 7
September 14th, 2006 at 8:17 am
So I thought, “Persephone? Proserpina? Surely they’ve already been used?” And sure enough, Proserpina is asteroid number 26 and Persephone is asteroid number 399. Both named in the 19th century.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:24 am
[...] Via Bad Astronomy [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 8:32 am
Here’s a salient comment on Eris’ naming… http://mikejanitch.com/
Leave a comment, I’m sure he’ll be right on it!
September 14th, 2006 at 8:38 am
The IAU has outsmarted themselves here. According to their own rules, they cannot name anything “Eris”, because it is too close to the name Eros (asteroid 433). Furthermore, although they can reject the name Xena, they are limited by their own rules in that nobody but Mike Brown can suggest an alternate name for 2003UB313 until the year 2013 (ten years after the discovery). So we’re stuck with either calling it 2003UB313 or Xena. Sorry.
Now, if the IAU had simply accepted the originally-porposed definition for “planet”, then Pluto, Charon, Ceres, and 2003UB313 would all be planets, and the rules associated with naming them would change; they could have changed the name of Xena to whatever they wanted. However, by leaving 2003UB313 off the list of planets, they are stuck with their own rules for naming minor bodies, and thus the name Eris is out and Xena stays. Either that, or the IAU must now change their rules for naming minor planets.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:39 am
For those who are grateful to the IAU for “ridding” us of the name Xena, perhaps it should be stressed that the IAU is *granted* this job by popular *convention*, and convention only. If people don’t like the IAU’s name or classification of an astronomical object, they are at liberty to call it whatever they are comfy with, and can classify it by whatever taxonomic scheme they honestly see fit.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:40 am
I had completely forgotten about the pomegranates! I had the same experience at about the same age for the same reason. Exotic, exciting story (much more interesting to consider being dragged into Hades by the king of the underworld than the other options offered girls in 1953)…and, the translation of the word is, literally, “apple grenade.” Delicious.
September 14th, 2006 at 8:42 am
[...] Do sempre interessante Bad Astronomy: o asteróide objeto do cinturão de Kuiper planeta-anão 2003 UB313, provisoriamente conhecido como “Xena” (blargh), foi batizado oficialmente… Eris! [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 9:05 am
[...] Someone must have lit a fire under the IAU’s ass, because they’ve moving like lightening on planetary issues right now. They’ve finally given 2003UB 313 an official planet name: Eris (goddess of strife and discord). It’s moon is now called Dysnomia (goddess of lawlessness). Much better than their nicknames Xena and Gabrielle, although the Bad Astronomer makes a punny point that we may not have escaped the references entirely. [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Sticks said:
>But now when we refer to it, we must quote the number first?
>It no longeer is just Pluto?
You can just call it Pluto. Everyone will know what you mean.
Jeffery Keown said:
> Here’s a salient comment on Eris’ naming… http://mikejanitch.com/
I’m not sure I can comment and obey the rules of this forum. Uh, I never would have even considered the war in Iraq in this context. The guy is definitely reading in his own agenda. Here is the full quote including the rest of the statement he omitted.
It’s as simple as that. No need to bring Iraq or war or politics into it at all.
Ed Minchau said:
> According to their own rules, they cannot name anything “Erisâ€, because it is too close to the name Eros (asteroid 433).
That is not necessarily correct.
In other words, that is at the discretion of the committee. This case they decided it isn’t too confusing.
>Furthermore, although they can reject the name Xena, they are limited by their own rules in that nobody but Mike Brown can suggest an alternate name for 2003UB313 until the year 2013 (ten years after the discovery).
You may have a point there.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Alan– EL61 is fairly elongated, so I don’t think they meant that one. I thought about it for a while, and I honestly am not sure what other objects they mean.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:09 am
Zoot says that Callisto was played by a woman, which is like calling your daughter Sally. But Callisto was female! She was an attendant of Artemis who had a son, Arcas, and they were turned into bears and placed in the sky as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Does Zoot know of a male Callisto somewhere. I agree with him about Eris though. TV and film producers should not mess around with myths. Mt Etna has been active lately which indicates that Hephaestos and his cyclopes have been working overtime on Zeus’ thunderbolts…
September 14th, 2006 at 10:23 am
They could’ve rejected Xena if it had ever been suggested as a name, and certainly would’ve given that Xena is a TV character not a mythological figure.
But in any case Xena and Gabriel were only ever unofficial nicknames for 2003UB313 and it’s moon, for convenience and cuteness while the IAU naming body considered the names (presumably Eris and Dysnomia) proposed by the discoverers.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Jeffrey: holy mackeral. I’ll have a blog entry about that up in an hour or so. Wow.
September 14th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Deacon Barry > You are right. I do know of a male callisto (tv character too) but they likely made the same mistake as I did, which is to mix up greek and roman mythology.
I believe that the romans would have trouble with a female name ending with an O. Xena must be mixing greek and roman naming though?
September 14th, 2006 at 11:59 am
I believe that the reason that UB313 (or Charon for that matter) cannot be called Persephone is that there is already an asteroid so named (399 Persephone). I guess also that means we’re not going to have any planets called Arthurdent, Mr Spock or James bond either
September 14th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Thats Eris Goddess of Chaos and Confusion.
HAIL!! ERIS! ALL HAIL DISCORDIA!
->
September 14th, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Ed Minchau, after further digging, it has become clear that Eris and Dysnomia were suggested by Mike Brown and his team. Mike has said all along that Xena and Gabrielle were placeholder names, nicknames for fun, and they would not be the official names submitted. He had to wait to find out the status of Eris’s planethood to find out what naming conventions were required before he could submit the official suggestions.
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/planetlila/index.html
September 14th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
[...] The artist, sorry, planet formerly known as ‘Xena’ is now ‘Eris’. And there is much humor of a geeky style to be found! Xena no more! [...]
September 14th, 2006 at 5:52 pm
According to Edith Hamilton’s mythology (she based it on the writings of Homer) Persephone only spent 4 months (that is 1/3 of a year) in the underworld, not 6 as mentioned by others.
I like the new name, but I think the Latin form should be used since Ceres, Pluto and the othe 8 all have the Latin form for their name. It is very fitting in how much discord this little world created in the astronomy community and everywhere else.
I think the Kuiper belt needs its own numbering system with Pluto at number 1..
September 14th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
[...] Apt. But I did like Xena, too. [ via] Hm, turns out that there is a small Xena connection. These are fun days. We see a planet dwarf-planet named, a planet demoted, and we can grasp some humorous intricacies behind the naming of Eris’s moon, Dysnomia. [...]
September 15th, 2006 at 11:56 am
About the “planet” nomenclature brouhahoowie:
The nine planets everyone knows as “planets” will become known as the ‘classical’ planets.
Other orbiting bodies will be categorised depending on certain characteristics, e.g. asteroidal belt planet, Kuiper belt planet, orbital planet (or something to describe our own moon, the Galilean satellites, Saturn’s satellites, Charon, etc), and in fact we already categorise the classical planets into rocky, gaseous, and Pluto.
Planets will be able to fit into more than one category (e.g. Charon is both a cometary belt object [Kuiper or Oort, sorryI don't know which is which] and orbital). These categories will come in even more handy as more extra-solar planets are discovered. More categories will also be needed.
September 15th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
[...] The planetoid formerly known as Xena (not to be confuised with Xenu), is now going to be called ‘Eris‘ after the Greek Goddess of strife & discord (Whose Roman name is Discordia.) According to both Slashdot & Boing Boing reports of an IAU article. [...]
September 16th, 2006 at 1:03 am
***The IAU has outsmarted themselves here. According to their own rules, they cannot name anything “Erisâ€, because it is too close to the name Eros (asteroid 433). ***
You sure? Because that rule’s already been broken several times, naming two objects after the same mythological figure (not just two that are spelled similarly). For example Pluto’s satellite Nix and the asteroid 3908 Nyx, and Jupiter’s moon Europa and the asteroid 52 Europa, and Jupiter’s moon Ganymede and the asteroid 1036 Ganymed.
Anyway, Eris is a great name.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:38 am
I think Eris is a good name choice, and the slight in-joke about the moon raises a smile.
As a teacher, I guess I will have to change my mnemonic from
My very excellent mother just served up nice pizza
to
My very excellent mother just served up Nachos
since the alternative “My very easy method just speeds up nomenclature” seems to be a bit of a mouthful
September 16th, 2006 at 7:48 am
[...] This blog is dedicated to Eris, the new goddess rising in our skies. [...]
September 16th, 2006 at 8:39 am
Acho que o mais importante é a descoberta e os béneficios dela provenientes e n não o nome que sera dado a ele mitologico ou não por mim poderia deixar Xena mesmo é um nome bonito e facil de lembrar nomes dificeis é falta do que fazer de cientista maluco,que deveria se preocupar com coisas mais utéis de preferencia em beneficio da humanidade e de modos de preservar o meio ambiente certo.
Obs:Mando um forte abraço e muitos bjs para lucy lawless e que ela faz muito sucesso aqui no brasil.Eu mesmo sou o maior fã ok.
Sem mais….
Atenciosamente
Cipriano Branco
September 16th, 2006 at 9:24 am
There are several craters named Herschel spread out through the Solar System. The most prominent being the one on Mimas. Mind you, there were three Herschel astronomers, so it’s only fair.
Zoot, it’s an old problem, the mining of Greek and Latin roots for new words. Classicists may howl at the bastardisation of their ancient tongues, but coiners of new words aren’t fussy about where they get them. Hollywood has even less respect.
September 18th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
[...] I’m also glad to report the mouthful of a dwarf planet, 2003UB313, was officially named Eris with its moon being named Dysnomia. Eris as you should know was the ancient Greek goddess of discord and strife. Dysnomia the goddess of lawlessness. I find the naming to be very apropos. It’s also a lot easier to type and say than 2003UB313. I want to take a moment to welcome our Erisian overlords. [...]
November 1st, 2006 at 9:41 am
I am just glad the IAU voted the way it did 8/06. I don’t think the names of objects are important, only insofar as they are used for identification purposes. Humans have always spent too much time projecting their narrow legends into the sky, it’ll be here long after we’re gone. Eris, Xena, whatever, just so it has a name.
Point is, no matter what the name, the important thing is that there are now 8 clear-cut planets, and the Pluto/Eris/Plutinos are KBOs .
June 14th, 2007 at 10:49 am
[...] orbit of its moon Dysnomia (remember when they were called Xena and Gabrielle? Man, I’m glad they changed the names). By seeing how long it takes the moon to orbit Eris, the mass of Eris can be found. Mike Brown [...]
April 24th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
there nothing about pluto in september 2006
April 24th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
you make everything so wonderful you do a very good job with everything you always be the best
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:08 am
They should of kept it as Xena. But the lawlessness reference is fine.
March 26th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
You might find this interesting: http://www.exospection.org
March 29th, 2009 at 8:01 am
[...] Tongue in cheek, he and his team nicknamed the planet Xena. When a moon was discovered, of course they named it Gabrielle. Eventually, once the orbit was properly determined, the IAU gave Mike the right to name them officially, so he went with Eris and Dysnomia. [...]
April 17th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I was very dissapointed that those boring, old woodheads at IAU didn’t choose the name Xena for the planet (yes planet) and Gabrielle for the moon. Eris is just plain boring.
Personally, I will always refer to the planet as Xena, in fact I’m constantly replacing the name Eris with Xena on all maps and documents in my computer.
As for Pluto, I still regard it as a planet too. The only reason to downgrade Pluto was probably French jealousy that the Americans discovered Pluto and the French didn’t.