-Caveat Lector- http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/new_planet_001204.html Just Discovered: Minor Planet Brighter than All Others By Robert Roy Britt,Senior Science Writer posted: 09:36 am ET, 04 December 2000 A space rock about one-fourth to one-half the size of Pluto and roughly the same distance from Earth has been found, and astronomers Friday called it the brightest "minor planet" in our solar system. The new object has been named 2000 WR106. Its diameter is estimated at between 330 and 750 miles (531 to 1,207 kilometers). Pluto is 1,470 miles (2,365 kilometers) in diameter. The largest known asteroid, Ceres, is 570 miles (917 kilometers) across. A three-panel animation shows the newly found TNO moving in the sky. Source LJL. The object has been classified as a Trans-Neptunian Object, or TNO -- a class of icy rocks that orbit the Sun out beyond Neptune's orbit. Scientists refer to TNOs, along with other asteroids and comets, as minor planets. Researchers have counted 346 TNOs since they were first recognized in the early 1990s, but they estimate there are at least 70,000 of them with diameters larger than 60 miles (100 kilometers). TNOs orbit the Sun at a distance of between 30 and 50 AU (1 AU, or astronomical unit, is the distance between the Sun and Earth). How could something so bright have escaped detection until now? "Perhaps because the object is in a fairly rich star field, not far from the galactic equator" where there is a heavy concentration of stars crowding the sky, said Robert McMillan, who found 2000 WR106. "Normally, other search groups look for TNOs in less crowded backgrounds." McMillan said finding such an object provides further motivation for researchers to continue searching for other large objects. Other astronomers say it's likely that another minor planet as big as Pluto, or possibly larger, will be found. McMillan, of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, first spotted the moving target November 28, with a 36-inch (1-meter) telescope on Kitt Peak. A total of 12 observations were made over three days by McMillan and a colleague. The researchers were conducting routine surveys as part of the 20-year-old Spacewatch effort to catalogue solar system objects. Determining size The newly found TNO has an apparent magnitude of 20. On this scale, larger positive numbers represent fainter objects. The faintest star or other object that can be seen under dark skies with the naked eye, for example, has an apparent magnitude of about 6. The extremely bright Venus, on the other hand, is at minus 4 on the scale. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center calculated a preliminary orbit for 2000 WR106 by assuming it carves a circular path around the Sun. The organization said the TNO is 43 times farther from the Sun than Earth. But more observations will be needed to determine if the orbit is in fact circular, or if it is more elongated, like Pluto's. The exact diameter will take some more sleuthing, too. Researchers said it will be weeks or months before the orbit's shape and distance from the Sun is pinned down. Only then can astronomers use the TNO's apparent brightness -- the reflected sunlight that is seen from Earth -- to determine the its "absolute magnitude," a standard measure of how bright an object would appear if it were 32.6 light-years away. This, along with studies of the composition of 2000 WR106, will reveal the TNO's diameter. The process, which will involve other researchers and telescopes, could take a year or more, McMillan told SPACE.com. Click here for more news and information on asteroids and TNOs. �2000 SPACE.com, inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
