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Meet your new neighbor: it treks around the sun, and it's large than Pluto. Find out if a newly spotted object could be the 10th planet.

Article Excerpt
DID YOU KNOW?

* Generally, the farther a planet is from the sun, the cooler the planet's temperature. Exception: Venus is surrounded by a thick atmosphere, which acts like a greenhouse to hold in solar heat. Temperatures on Venus reach 462[degrees]C (864[degrees]F). Astronomers estimate that the surface temperature of distant 2003 UB313 is a frosty -243[degrees]C (-405[degrees]F).

* Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to orbit the sun. That means that in 2011, this planet will have completed one orbit since its discovery in 1846.

CRITICAL THINKING:

* The International Astronomical Union (IAU) convened a panel of experts to come up with a definition for the word "planet." Their decision will determine the fate of Pluto and 2003 UB313. Debate: Are the two cosmic bodies planets?

CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS:

HISTORY: When Galileo first scanned the skies with a telescope in the early 17th century, his observations altered human understandings of the planets. Have students research to create a time line on how advancement in telescope designs lead to discoveries about the solar system.

RESOURCES

* To learn more about 2003 UB313, read this interview with Brian Marsden of the IAU: www.earthsky.com/shows/ astrophysics_interviews.php?id=44587

* For fun facts about the solar system, including an activity for finding your weight on different planets, check out: www.planetary.org/learn/solarsystem/index.html

"My-Very-Educated-Mother-Just-Served-Us-Nine-Pizzas." The various phrases that have helped you memorize the order of the solar system's planets may need revisions. That's because a team of astronomers has discovered what could be the 10th planet.

Currently dubbed 2003 UB313, the newly...

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