Eris dwarf planet. Artwork of the dwarf planet Eris,formerly called 2003 UB313. The Sun is the bright object at lower right. Eris is thought to be larger than Pluto,and takes 560 years to orbit the Sun. Its distance from the Sun ranges from 38 to 95 times the Earth-Sun distance. Initial observations have revealed the presence of methane ice on the planet's surface,suggesting that its surface is similar to Pluto's. Like Pluto,and Sedna,Eris is a large member of the Kuiper Belt of mostly small,icy bodies. The discovery was made at the Palomar Observatory,USA,by Mike Brown,Chad Trujillo and David Rabinowitz,and announced in July 2005 |