Mike Brown and the Five Dwarfs

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, in August the body formerly known as “Xena” was denied planetary status by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which then, for good measure, booted Pluto out of the club as well. These objects, plus the other ones discovered by Professor of Planetary Astronomy Mike Brown and colleagues—Quaoar, Sedna, “Santa,” and “Easterbunny”—will henceforth be termed “dwarf planets.” The IAU also formally named “Xena” Eris, the Greek goddess of discord; its moon “Gabrielle” is now Dysnomia, Eris’s daughter and the goddess of lawlessness. But fans of TV’s warrior princess need not despair—Brown notes that Xena was played by Lucy Lawless, and Eris appeared on the show as a recurring character under her Latin name, Discordia. —DS