The Solar System
Register
Advertisement
Eris
Eris
Eris with Dysnomia, its only moon.
Description
Diameter: 2,400 km
Orbital Position 5
Average distance from Sun: 96.6 AU
Rotation period: Unknown
Orbital period: 557 Earth years
Moons: 1 (Dysnomia)

Eris is the most massive and second-largest TNO known in the Solar System. Eris was found in 2003 in the Kuiper belt and was given the temporary names "2003UB-313" and "Xena". In 2005, it was changed to Eris.

Tilted Orbit[]

Eris has an even more tilted orbit than those of Ceres, (10 degrees), Pluto (17 degrees) and MakeMake (28 degrees). Its orbit is inclined at a whooping 44 degrees similar to that of Tyche (which also has 44 degree orbit) and is so tilted that it crosses the orbits of MakeMake and Pluto.

Capture

The highly tilted orbit of Eris compared to the orbits of Ceres (light blue), Jupiter (maroon), Saturn (orange, Uranus (green), Neptune (blue), Pluto (olive, and MakeMake (red)

Advertisement