UB 313: Larger than Pluto
			
		
		
			Illustration Credit & Copyright:  
Thierry Lombry
		
		
			What do you call an outer Solar System object that is larger than Pluto?  
Nobody is yet sure.  
The question arose recently when 
2003 UB313, 
an object currently twice as far out as Pluto and not in the 
plane with the rest of the planets, was 
verified recently 
to be 30 percent wider than 
Pluto.  
UB313's size was measured by a noting its distance from the 
Sun and how much 
infrared light it emits.  
Previous size estimates were based only on visible light and greatly 
affected by how reflective the object is.  
Whether 2003 UB313 
is officially declared a planet will be answered shortly by the 
International Astronomical Union.  
In the above picture, a scientific artist has imagined 
UB313 in its 
distant orbit around the Sun coupled with a hypothetical moon.