On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
News of another “planet” beyond Pluto may become common. First came Quaoar in 2002 and then Sedna in 2003. Unlike these two worlds, the latest candidate, announced in July, is actually bigger than Pluto, by 50 percent. Designated 2003UB313 and unofficially nicknamed Xena, the mass of ice and rock currently lies three times farther out than Pluto. Investigators originally photographed it in 2003 at Palomar Observatory near Los Angeles, but its strange orbit, tilted nearly 45 degrees off that of nearly all other planets, delayed its discovery until this past January. Near-infrared images reveal a surface of mostly methane ice, remarkably similar to Pluto’s. One or two more planets of like size might dwell within the same distance, says planetary scientist Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology. An untold number of worlds might lurk beyond that, perhaps deriving from the Kuiper belt or the hypothesized Oort cloud. “No one has really probed out to that distance,” he remarks.
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
