Astronomy Down Under

“Xena” has a name

14 Sep at 14:15 by Wilson

2003 UB₃₁₃, aka Xena, has now an official name given by the IAU: Eris. Its moon, previously known informally as Gabrielle, is now called Dysnomia. Eris is the Greek goddess of discord, while her daughter Dysnomia is related to lawlessness. This follows the general theme for trans-Neptunian objects being named after “not-so-nice” Greek gods.

The IAU announcement is here (PDF document).