Recently a new chunk of rock was discovered circling our Sun even further away than Pluto. Scientists have since estimated that the object is at least 1 1/2 times larger than Pluto. This is the first planet-sized object discovered in our Solar System since Pluto, in 1930. It is 15 billion kilometers from the Sun (97 times further out than the Earth is from the Sun), which it orbits every 560 years at an unusual 45-degree angle. For now, it is known by its assigned number "2003 UB313." Its discoverer, astronomer Mike Brown of California Institute of Technology, is quoted as saying, "It's definitely bigger than Pluto." (Click here for a chart showing comparative sizes of the Moon, Pluto, 2003 UB313, and other moons, mesoplanets and planetoids.)
Brown has submitted a name for the new planet to the International Astronomical Union, the organization that oversees such matters, but his choice of names had not been announced publicly. There is no truth to the rumor that Disneyland, located just down the road from Cal Tech, has paid an undisclosed sum to have the planet officially christened Goofy.
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