UB313 named

via Foxnews.

Meant to comment on this last week, but astronomical object UB313, located in the deep reaches of the solar system's Kuiper belt, finally gets a name: Eris, for the Greek goddess of discord. It had been nicknamed "Xena" by discoverer Mike Brown of Caltech. It is defined as a "dwarf" planetary body.

Eris was responsible for much of the controversy surrounding the recent planetary definition debated by the International Astronomical Union, as it is slightly larger than now-demoted to "dwarf" planet Pluto. Eris, like Pluto, also has a satellite, now christened Dysnomia, which was Eris daughter and the spirit of lawlessness. Asteroid Ceres is also defined as a "dwarf" planet.

In Greek mythology, Eris is best known for causing the Trojan War.