Picture News 2
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THE solar system's newest and most remote object has been revealed to have a moon, although astronomers are divided over whether it really is a planet, as some believe it to be.
"Since the day we discovered Xena, the big question is whether or not it has a moon," said the California Institute of Technology's Michael Brown, whose team found both Xena, named after television's female warrior, and its moon.
"Having a moon is Â… something that most self-respecting planets have, so it is good to see that this one does too," he said. The moon, 100 times fainter than Xena and orbiting it once every couple of weeks, was spotted on September 10 by Hawaii's Keck telescope.
Xena is the temporary name of the planet, Gabrielle the temporary name of its moon. Professor Brown said the latest estimates for Xena, the solar system's most remote object, suggested it was 2700 kilometres across, compared with 2274 kilometres for Pluto, the smallest known planet.
Gabrielle is about 250 kilometres across. For some, such as Professor Brown, Xena's size earns it the title of planet. Others say that neither Xena nor Pluto should be classified as planets. -
AFP/DDP - Mon Oct 3, 2:32 PM ET
Weathervane and eclipse : A bird sits atop of a weatheraven during a partial eclipse of the sun in Salzhausen, Germany. (AFP/DDP/Henning Kaiser) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:32 PM ET
Through the lens : Bulgarian children view the annular eclipse of the sun through the lens of a telescope in the Black Sea port of Varna. (AFP) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:33 PM ET
Getting away : Two kids run away from the flames of a wild fire approaching their village in Lapa do Lobo, 300 km north of Lisbon. (AFP/Nicolas Asfouri) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:24 PM ET
Projection : An annular eclipse seen through a telescope is projected onto a white sheet of paper in Kosice, Slovakia. (AFP/Frantisek Ivan) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 2:49 PM ET
Safe shot : A man looks at the annular eclipse of the sun through a filter device in La Linea, southern Spain. (AFP/Jose Luis Roca) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:13 PM ET
Homemade viewer : A woman looks at an annular eclipse through a plastic bottle near Rabat, Morocco. (AFP/Abdelhak Senna) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:10 PM ET
Mass viewing : People wear special glasses to watch the annular eclipse of the sun at the Planetarium in Madrid. (AFP/Philippe Desmazes) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 2:51 PM ET
Safe shades : A man watches the annular eclipse of the sun through a pair of special glasses in Vigo, Spain. (AFP/Miguel Riopa) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 2:44 PM ET
Left behind : A bloodstained glove hangs from razor wire following the mass assault over the double fence into the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco by African immigrants. (AFP/Melmoth ) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:20 PM ET
This way! : Soldiers of 27th French mountain infantry brigade signla other troops during joint Kyrgyz-French military exercises some 15 km outside Bishkek. (AFP/Vyacheslav Oseledko) -
AFP - Mon Oct 3, 3:08 PM ET
Seen from Jordan : Jordanian school girls wear special glasses to watch an annular solar eclipse in the Jordanian capital Amman. (AFP/Khalil Mazraawi) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 7:06 PM ET
Hizb ut-Tahir : A member of Hizb ut-Tahir, the British branch of the Islamic political party, takes part in a demonstration close to Lancaster House where Prime Minister Tony Blair welcomed Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the beginning of an EU-Russia summit in London. (AFP/Adrian Dennis) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 7:10 PM ET
Rhythmic performance : Olga Kapranova from Russia performs for the gold medal in the rope tournament during the 27th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship in Baku. (AFP/Mladen Antonov) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:22 PM ET
Vegas sumo : Mongolian born Yokozuna or Grand Champion Asashoryu walks by the Mandalay Bay Casino as he arrives to participate in a Grand Sumo Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AFP/Hector Mata) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:51 PM ET
Rights demo : A gay rights campaigner pretends to hang herself beside a policeman during a protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London. Protesters were hoping to draw attention to Iran's homophobic atrocities. (AFP/Adrian Dennis) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 7:04 PM ET
Roses for the victims : Red roses are placed by mourners in the sand at the bomb blast scene as a tourist walks along the beach in Jimbaran bay, on Bali island. (AFP/Jewel Samad) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 7:39 PM ET
Blessing for Bayou : Gary Whitten, a volunteer with the Washington Animal Rescue League, who helped rescue and treat animals effected by Hurricane Katrina, holds Bayou before the Blessing of the Animals at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:49 PM ET
Miyake creation : A model presents a creation by Japanese designer Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake during the Spring/Summer 2006 Ready-to-Wear collections in Paris. (AFP/Pierre Verdy) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 9:00 PM ET
Pageant contestant : A candidate for the title Miss Serbia and Montenegro 2005 parades during a national beauty contest in Belgrade. (AFP/Dimitar Dilkoff) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:55 PM ET
Prayers in Bali : An Indonesian Muslim girl looks back as she joins with others to pray 'Tarawih' or special prayer for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Bali, three days after a series of bomb attacks shocked the resort island. (AFP/Jewel Samad) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:43 PM ET
Peycheva performs : Simona Peycheva from Bulgaria performs during the finals of the ball tournament of the 27th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship in Baku. (AFP/Mladen Antonov) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 6:41 PM ET
Fashion fringe : A model presents a creation by Japanese designer Naoki Takizawa for Issey Miyake during the Spring/Summer 2006 Ready-to-Wear collections in Paris. (AFP/Pierre Verdy) -
AFP - Tue Oct 4, 7:11 PM ET
EU art in Istanbul : A visitor walks past a poster of artist Burak Delier depicting a woman wearing a chandor made from an European Union flag in an exhibition in downtown Istanbul. (AFP/Mustafa Ozer) -
Posters dot Iraq as a referendum on the country's constitution approaches.