(CNN) -- The unexpected size of a recently discovered body beyond Pluto has scientists wondering if even larger objects lurk in the depths of the solar system.
After Pluto and its moon Charon, Varuna has been identified as the largest known body in the Kuiper Belt, a ring composed of more than 70,000 cold, dark and slow-moving objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, scientists announced Thursday.
Using telescopes on a mountain peak in Hawaii, astronomers determined that Varuna has a diameter of about 900 km (550 miles), compared to about 2,200 km (1,350 miles) for Pluto and 1,200 km (750 miles) for Charon.
Discovered in November, Varuna closes the gap between Pluto and the previously largest known Kuiper-Belt object, which is around 600 km (350 miles) in diameter, said astronomer Steve Tegler of Northern Arizona University.
"Pluto and Charon are not so unique in size now. Perhaps more Pluto-sized objects or even larger objects remain undiscovered in the outer reaches of the solar system."
Varuna could be the first of many such discoveries, predicted Tegler and a colleague in an editorial entitled 'Almost Planet X' in the May 24 issue of the Nature.
The essay accompanied an article detailing the new Varuna findings, written by lead scientist David Jewitt of the Institute for Astronomy in Hawaii and two associates.
The trio found that Varuna reflects about 7 percent of the sunlight that strikes its surface, considerably more than most identified objects in the Kuiper Belt.
"The higher than guessed albedo (reflectivity) may be due to the presence of some ice on the surface, but nothing like as much as Pluto can command," said Brian Marsden of the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory.
Varuna is much darker than Pluto, a frosty world with a seasonal atmosphere that bounces back about 60 percent of the solar light that reaches it.
Some astronomers consider the new revelations vindication of the work of Clyde Tombaugh, who in 1930 spotted Pluto during a search for the elusive Planet X. Unconvinced that his icy find was his intended quarry, he kept looking for other sizable, distant objects.
More Kuiper Belt surprises may await astronomers after space shuttle astronauts deploy an infrared telescope facility in 2002. The instrument is expected to provide more precise measurements of objects in the distant solar system.
20 July 2007
Pluto has new, far out peer
18 July 2007
Good Bye My Brave Tim
JAKARTA – Korea Republic booked their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Asian Cup, downing co-hosts Indonesia 1-0 at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium to squeeze into the last eight.
Saudi Arabia’s comfortable 4-0 win over Bahrain coupled with the victory over the Indonesians means Pim Verbeek’s team stay alive in the competition despite only picking up four points in their three Group D games.
The Koreans take second place in the group and will now face the winners of Group C at Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Kim Jung-woo scored the only goal of the game when his shot from the edge of the area was deflected past Indonesian goalkeeper Markus Rihihina in the 34th minute, after Verbeek had made wholesale changes to his starting line-up
The Dutchman dropped six of the players who lost to Bahrain in the previous game, including Middlesbrough striker Lee Dong-gook and Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Lee Ho.
Indonesia, too, made changes with Astaman Ponaryo recovering from injury to return as captain while Yandri Pitoy made way between the posts for Markus Rihihina.
Despite both sides needing a win to be sure of a place in the knockout phase, the game started cautiously with Lee Chun-soo hitting his sixth minute free kick straight at Markus while three minutes later the Koreans could have claimed the opener.
Markus did well to parry Cho Jae-jin’s shot only for Son Dae-ho to push his attempt across the face of goal.
The Indonesians always looked dangerous on the break, though, and Elie Aiboy was a constant menace in the opening 45 minutes.
Just before the half-hour mark, the Arema Malang man shot just over the bar from the edge of the area after a searing run into the Korean half by Firman Utina had the visitors panicking.
But with 11 minutes to go to the break, the Koreans went in front. Lee Chun-soo’s run across the Indonesian penalty area was followed by a pass to Kim Jung-woo and his right-foot shot was helped past Markus by the finest of deflections off defender Muhammad Ridwan.
With seconds remaining in the half, Indonesia could have pulled level but Elie’s run into the penalty area ended with a shot across the face of goal rather than Lee Woon-jae picking it out of the net.
As the game wore on, the Koreans looked the more likely to strike again, but their problems in front of goal continued.
Nine minutes after the restart Kang Min-soo should have made it 2-0 when Cho Jae-jin’s header across the six-yard box gave him the simplest of opportunities, only for his attempt to cannon off the head of Richardo Salampessy.
Fourteen minutes later Kim Jung-woo looked odds on to score his second of the night when Lee Chun-soo set him up to score 12 yards from goal, but instead the Nagoya Grampus Eight midfielder’s shot was saved by Markus.
The Koreans, however, managed to successful run down the clock, breaking the hearts of the 90,000 Indonesian fans and setting up a possible showdown with Iran in the last eight
