Show:
Random Facts
Mythology
About Eris
Math Stats
Surface of Eris
100
What type of planet is Eris?
What is a dwarf planet. (Fun Facts: Eris is the biggest dwarf planet there is. Eris is slightly larger then Pluto! The discovery of Eris made astronomers wonder: what is the definition of a planet?)
100
Who was Eris named after?
Who is the ancient Greek goddess of strife and discord. (She creates jealousy and envy to cause fighting and anger among men)
100
Does Eris have any moons? If so, how many does it have and what are their name(s)?
What is 1 moon, Dysnomia. (Fun Facts: Eris only has one moon. It takes 2 weeks to orbit Eris. Dysnomia is 8x smaller than Eris. Dysnomia is named after Eris' daughter who is the demon Goddess of Lawlessness.)
100
Who has a longer period of revolution- Earth or the planet Eris?
What is Eris. (Eris has a revolution of 20,819.25 days which means it takes that long to make 1 trip around the sun. 20,819.25 days also equals 557 years! Earth has a revolution of 365.25 days, which is equal to one year-duhh! So, by the time Eris makes one orbit around the sun, Earth has made 57 rotations!)
100
What is the average temperature of the surface area of Eris?
What is -359 degrees F to -405 degrees F. (The thin atmosphere will thaw in hundreds of years as Eris gets closer to the sun, showing a rocky surface scientists believe is similar to Pluto.)
200
What was Eris' previous names before is was named Eris?
What is UBU 313 and Xena. (The International Astronomical Union gives the planets their names.)
200
Why was Eris named "Eris"?
What is it was in the center of a debate. (The name fits because Eris remains at the center of a debate about the definition of a planet.)
200
Why can't Eris be observed with the naked eye?
What is it is too far away from Earth. (Because it is so distant from us, we cannot observe Eris with the naked eye or even binoculars in the same way that you can view planets such as Jupiter, considering it is much larger then Eris. You'll need a very powerful telescope to see it!)
200
What is the distance from Eris to the sun? Is it... A) 6 billion km B) 120 million km C) 10.12 billion km D)3.69 billion km
What is C, 10.12 billion km! (The current distance of Eris from the Sun is estimated to be about 96.7 AU [Astronomical Units- how astronauts measure]. Eris is almost 15x closer to the sun then Earth is!)
200
How did astronomers determine what Eris was made of?
What is sunlight. (They studied the surface by looking at the sunlight reflected off of them. Astronomers found that the dwarf planet looks similar to Pluto. They observe pictures taken, so they are able to see the amount of sunlight reflected in near infrared light.)
300
Who has a larger diameter, Eris or Ceres?
What is Eris. (Eris is the largest dwarf planet known in our solar system today. The diameter of Ceres in 950 km, being significantly smaller then Eris. Eris is nearly 2.5x larger then the other dwarf planet Ceres.)
300
Who was Eris?
What is a Goddess. (Eris wasn't invited to the important wedding of Peleus and Thetis. She was really hurt and angered that she wasn't invited. She went on a rage which caused chaos among the goddesses that led to the Trojan war.)
300
Who discovered the dwarf planet of Eris?
Who is M.E. Brown, C.A. Trujillo, and D.L. Rabinowitz. (They discovered it on October 21st, 2003. It was discovered in an observatory using a high-powered telescope. They didn't announce their discovery until January 5th, 2005 after they verified their info.)
300
If you weigh 95 pounds on Earth, how much would you weigh on Eris?
What is 7.6 pounds. (The gravitational pull on Earth is a lot larger on Earth then it is on Eris. The gravitational pull on Earth is 9.8 m/s^2 while Eris' gravitational pull is 0.784 m/s^2, which makes you weigh a lot more on Earth then Eris)
300
What is the atmosphere of Eris like?
What is an icy glaze. (Eris is often so far from the sun that its atmosphere collapses and freezes on the surface in an icy glaze. The coating gleams brightly like reflecting sunlight off of freshly fallen snow.)
400
Is Eris' distance from the sun ever predicted to change?
What is yes. (The distance of how far the Earth is away from the sun can change substantially as Eris proceeds along its path. This is ecause of it's high eccentricity in it's orbit which means it is very elliptical in shape. Right now, its distance of 96.7 AU is thought to be its aphelion distance (farthest distance away from the sun). At its perihelion (closest distance to the sun), Eris would be only 37.77 AU away.
400
What was Eris' Roman name?
What is Discordia. (Eris was similar to the war-goddess Enyo. Homer uses both of the names interchangeably.)
400
Is Eris the biggest dwarf planet?
What is yes. (Eris is the largest dwarf planet. The next biggest are Pluto and Makemake. Eris, Pluto, Makemake, Ceres, and Haumea were all considered dwarf planets in 2008)
400
If Earth's period of rotation is 24 hours, and Eris' period of rotation is 3x less then that, what would Eris' period of rotation be? A) 6 hours B) 72 hours C)21 hours D) 8 hours
What is D, 8 hours. (Since Earth's period of rotation is 24 hours and Eris' period of rotation is 3x LESS, you could simply calculate the answer to be 8 hours by dividing 24 by 3.)
400
How long do scientists think it will take for Eris to thaw? A) Never B) Hundreds of years C) Thousands of years D) Millions of years
What is B, hundreds of years. (The thin atmosphere will thaw in hundreds of years as Eris creeps closer to the sun. It will then reveal a rocky surface scientists believe that is similar to Pluto.)
500
What made scientists rethink and change the definition of a planet?
What is the discovery of Eris. (Pluto used to be considered a planet in the solar system. With the discovery of Eris, it made astronomers rethink the defintion of a planet, considering that Eris is slightyly bigger then Pluto! Now, they are both considered dwarf planets)
500
Did Eris have any kids? If so what were their name(s)?
What is yes. (She had14 offspring named Ponos, Lethe, Limos, The Algea, The Hysminai, The Makhai, The Phonoi, The Androktasiai, The Neikea, The Pseudologoi, The Amphilogiai, Dysnomia, Ate, and Horkos)
500
Where is Eris located in the Solar System?
What is Kuiper Belt. (Eris was submitted as a possible 10th planet of our solar system since it was the first object in the Kuiper Belt found to be bigger than Pluto.)
500
If Earth's diameter is 12,756 km and you divide that by 5.315 to find Eris' diameter, what would you get?
What is 2,400. (This means that the Earth's diameter is 5.315 times bigger then Eris!)
500
What do scientists think the interior of Eris made of?
What is ice and rock. (Since we can only see the surface of Eris, scientists can only make educated guesses about the interior. Pluto has a 50/50 density of ice and rock, so scientists conclude that the interior is about half ice and half rock. Eris, being about the same size and the same surface composition as Pluto, is probably close to the same.)