Eris

Eris is a dwarf planet in the outer solar system. It was discovered in 2005 by a team of astronomers led by Mike Brown.

Eris is known to be the largest and most massive object in the Kuiper belt, a region full of icy bodies at the outer reaches of our solar system. It is similar in size to Pluto, which led to debates about its classification as a dwarf planet.

Originally designated 2003 UB313 - and nicknamed for the television warrior Xena by its discovery team - Eris is named for the ancient Greek goddess of discord and strife. The name fits since Eris remains at the centre of a scientific debate about the definition of a planet.

Eris is slightly larger than Pluto, with an estimated diameter of about 2,326 kilometres. It is comparatively small compared to Earth, which has a diameter of about 12,742 kilometres.

In terms of distance, Eris orbits much further away from the Sun than Earth. On average, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is about 149.6 million kilometres, while Eris lies in the Kuiper belt, at an average distance of about 10 billion kilometres from the Sun.

One of the most interesting features of Eris is its moon called Dysnomia, which was discovered shortly after its own discovery.

Disnomia is about one tenth the size of Eris and orbits around it.

Disnomia's orbit around Eris is of great interest to astronomers, as it provides clues about the mass and gravity of Eris. Studying the interactions between Eris and Disnomia can help scientists to better understand the dynamics of the systems of objects in the Kuiper belt.

Eris is also remarkable for its composition, mainly composed of ices and rocks. Its surface is covered with frozen methane and probably also with frozen nitrogen and methane.

Because of its distant location in the solar system and its size, Eris is a difficult object to study in depth. However, observations so far have provided valuable information about the characteristics and composition of this mysterious dwarf planet.

It should be noted that when it was discovered it was presented as a possible tenth planet in the Solar System and, at first, Eris appeared to be larger than Pluto, a discovery that generated a debate in the scientific community and eventually led to the International Astronomical Union's decision in 2006 to clarify the definition of a planet.