LONELY PLANET ; Tiny Sedna is spotted 6billion miles from Earth
Posted on: Tuesday, 16 March 2004, 06:00 CST
SPACE observers yesterday claimed to have found a new planet six billion miles from Earth.
NASA scientists have named the chunk of rock and ice Sedna.
It is three times further from the Sun than Pluto so remote that someone on its surface could block out the Sun with the head of a pin.
And astronomers are divided on whether Sedna is really the solar system's 10th planet It was found by the recently launched Spitzer Space Telescope.
Dr Robin Catchpole, of the Royal Observatory in London, said: 'Sedna has been located in an area of space known as the Kuiper Belt, which contains hundreds of objects orbiting the Sun.
'Some astronomers do not believe Pluto is really a planet because of its small size and the same debate is going to happen about Sedna.
'But whether it is a planet or an asteroid, it is exciting to discover such a large object so far away. ' TV astronomer Patrick Moore was insistent that Sedna is not a planet.
He said: 'It is the biggest thing that has been found that far away but I am sure there are similar objects out there.'
Sedna was named after an Inuit sea goddess.
In legend, she was forced to marry a mystery hunter.
Her 'husband' turned out to be a raven and when she died in her bid to escape him, her severed body parts falling into the sea turned into the creatures of the Arctic.
SEDNA THE 10th PLANET? Where is Sedna?Shows distance from sun in Astronomical Units (AU) 1AU = Sun to Earth 100 million miles Neptune = 3 billion miles Sedna = 6 billion milesEarth 12,756km Largest of the inner planet s Moon 3476kmKuiper Belt Region oficy debris 30 to 100 AU from the SunHow Sedna compares (diameter)Mercury 4878km Smallest inner planetSPACED OUT: Sedna is located 6 billion miles from the EarthPluto 2280kmThe discovery of Sedna, a Pluto-sized object found by NASA's Spitzer SpaceTelescope, orbiting the Sun at a distance of about 6 billion miles looks set to renew debate over Pluto's right to planet statusSedna Similar in size to Pluto
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