Let us welcome 2003 UB313 to the solar system

By Aussiegirl

While we on Planet Earth have been all worked up over cartoons, they've gone and added a 10th planet to the solar system.

CNN.com - Scientists: New 'planet'�bigger than Pluto - Feb 1, 2006

German astrophysicists have concluded a space body located in the outer reaches of the solar system has a diameter 435 miles (700 kilometers) larger than Pluto, the smallest planet.

Their research puts more pressure on the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to classify the object as the 10th planet in our solar system.

"UB313 is decidedly larger than Pluto," said University of Bonn Professor Frank Bertoldi, whose team's findings will be published in Thursday's journal Nature.

The object, tentatively named 2003 UB313, is an icy body that lies beyond the planet Neptune.