The dwarf planet UB313, a distant object that fueled the fire of what the definition of a planet should be, has now been officially named Eris by its discoverer, Caltech astronomer Michael Brown. It's an appropriate name because Eris, according to Greek mythology, was the goddess of discord. (As Robert Anton Wilson fans and fringe culture explorers know, the worship of Eris is the chaotic cornerstone of Discordianism, "a religion disguised as a joke disguised as a religion.") From the Los Angeles Times (artist's concept from NASA/JPL-Caltech):
Not everyone is happy with the choice. Robert Mitchell, a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, said it seemed "a little silly" to give a permanent name based on a controversy that will blow over in time.Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, said you can't please everyone.
If "the IAU named Mars today, there would be all kinds of politically correct arguments" over naming a planet after the god of war, Friedman said.
The IAU also took Brown's suggestion for the name of Eris' tiny moon, Dysnomia. In Greek mythology, Dysnomia is Eris' daughter, the goddess of lawlessness.
Link to LA Times, Link to NASA coverage
