Science textbooks everywhere may need to add three more planets to their pages – Charon, Ceres, and UB313 (nicknamed Xena). Pending further study, scientists say there may be as many as 50 new planets! The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is meeting in Prague, Czech Republic next week to decide on the official definition of a planet. The IAU says their decision may rely on two criteria:
1. A planet must be large enough to be a sphere due to its own gravity.
2. A planet must orbit around a star.
Photo Credit: The International Astronomical Union/Martin Kornmesser.
Two of the three new proposed planets can be captured with our behemoth 16" LX200R telescope along with the CCD astrophotography imager, which is now on sale with the purchase of any LX telescope for $129, normally $399.
The other proposed planet, Ceres, is a candidate for the fifth rock from the sun, possibly pushing Jupiter to number six. The new criteria may also set in stone the debatable status of our smallest "ice" planet, Pluto. Both Ceres and Pluto are best viewed with our advanced scopes, the 8" LX90 GPS and LX200 GPS.
You don't need a high-powered scope to get a glimpse of Ceres or to view the rest of our solar system’s other magnificent planets (sans Pluto of course). Our beginner and intermediate scopes can locate or track any of these celestial objects and more. Here are my top picks:
- 70AZ-AR, a manual scope
- NGC-70, computer controlled
- ETX-80BB, computer controlled and can track objects along with the Earth's rotation – perfect for capturing astrophotos of planets, including Ceres!
Happy Viewing,
JP Stoops, Telescopes Buyer
