2008 Woodie Awards
Discovery of new planet
Natalia Diaz
Issue date: 9/9/05 Section: Opinion
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In the whole world nine planets are known in the solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. But, recent information has shown the discovery of a tenth planet in the universe.
The new planet is called 2003 UB313, named by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is a temporary designation based on the day it was first seen.
"The 2003 UB313 is big ger than Pluto," stated Brown, Professor of Planetary Astronomy, when the California Institute of Technology announced the discovery of the planet on June 9.
The planet was discovered, in addition to Brown, by Chad Trujillo, of the Gemini Observatory in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and David Rabinowitz, of the Yale University, New Heaven, Connecticut.
According to a NASA press release, they first photographed the new planet with the 48-inch Samuel Oschin Telescope on Oct. 31, 2003 at Palomar Observatory in southern California.
According to the reporter Ricardo J. Tohme, another version showed that Jose Luis Ortiz anounced on July 29 the discovery of a big Trans-Neptunian object (TNO), indicating that the object found by Ortiz was designated as 2003 EL61
"There is no question that the Spanish group is rightly credited with the discovery," Brown said.
It is important who discovered the new tenth planet because it would be part of the world history. Overall, the discovery of the 2003 UB313 planet is important because it demonstrates the advancements in our technology. It also shows the curiosity of human beings to explore new territories in space. Thanks to that curiosity, we could learn a lot of things we do not know about this world.
The investigation of the universe never ends. But the new discoveries and deep investigations could soon open up human beings to the opportunities all the things the universe has.
It is good to know that not only horrific things are happening in the world; good things, such as the discovery of the tenth planet, are some of the things that can comfort us.