Buffy is the temporary name given by the team for the object, whose official designation by the Paris-based International Astronomical Union (IAU) is 2004 XR 190.
Its orbit is in a relatively narrow range of between 52 and and 62 astronomical units (AU) from the sun.
An AU is a standard measurement, being that of the distance between the Earth and the Sun, of approximately 150 million kilometres.
By comparison, another 'extended scattered disk' member called Sedna swings out to as far as 900 AU before coming as close to the sun as 76 AU.
I've seen from fairly explosive exchanges between Buffy fans and Xena fans. Is it responsible to give these tribes rival territorial claims in the outer solar system?
1 comment:
I think the name Buffy would me more appropriate for a near-sun object or even a small star.
After all Buffy is *hot* - and things in the Kuiper belt are about as cold as it's possible to get.
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