The discovery of a distant, icy rock last year — 2003 UB313 - that has led to the demise of the former planet Pluto, has been official christened by the International Astronomical Union on Wednesday.
It has been given a name ‘Eris’, after the Greek goddess of chaos and strife. It measures about 70 miles wider than Pluto and is the farthest known object in the solar system — 9 billion miles away from sun!
A disc of icy debris beyond the orbit of Neptune, the newly christened dwarf planet is also the third brightest object located in the Kuiper belt. Eris’ moon also received a formal name - Dysnomia. It is the name of Eris’ daughter — known as the spirit of lawlessness.
