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Eris has been measured at 2,326 ± 12 kilometres (1,445 ± 7 mi) in diameter; [12] its mass is 0.28% that of the Earth and 27% greater than that of Pluto, [23] [24] although Pluto is slightly larger by volume. [25] Both Eris and Pluto have a surface area that is comparable to that of Russia or South America. Eris has one large known moon, Dysnomia.
Eris was never officially classified as a planet, and the 2006 definition of planet defined both Eris and Pluto not as planets but as dwarf planets because they have not cleared their neighbourhoods. [5] They do not orbit the Sun alone, but as part of a population of similarly sized objects.
Particularly notable are Eris, a dwarf planet and the only TNO known to be more massive than Pluto, leading directly to Pluto's demotion from planet status; [2] [8] Sedna, a planetoid thought to be the first observed body of the inner Öpik–Oort cloud; and Orcus.
Dwarf planet Eris, similar in size to its better-known cosmic cousin Pluto, has remained an enigma since being discovered in 2005 lurking in the solar system's far reaches. While Pluto was ...
Only one of them – Pluto – has been observed in enough detail to verify that its current shape fits what would be expected from hydrostatic equilibrium. [53] Ceres is close to equilibrium, but some gravitational anomalies remain unexplained. [54] Eris is generally assumed to be a dwarf planet because it is more massive than Pluto.
The largest known trans-Neptunian objects are Pluto and Eris, followed by Haumea, Makemake, Gonggong, Quaoar, Sedna, and Orcus, all of them being officially recognized as dwarf planets by the IAU except for Gonggong, Sedna, and Orcus.
Eris, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz – the only known TNO more massive than Pluto [3] Haumea, discovery also claimed by the Sierra Nevada Observatory, Spain (also see José Luis Ortiz Moreno). [7] Makemake, co-discovered with Brown and Rabinowitz in 2005, one of the first 5 official dwarf planets. [8]
The memoir is an account of the events surrounding the redefinition of the term planet that eventually changed the status of Pluto. It chronicles the discovery of Eris, a dwarf planet then mistakenly thought to be larger than Pluto, located within the scattered disc, beyond Neptune's orbit.