The dwarf planet we so fondly call "Xena" now has an official name. Yes, some of you Xena fans might be reacting violently now, but the new and agreed upon name isn't so bad: 136199 Eris, (Eris for short) named after the goddess of discord and chaos. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) agreed last September 13 on the name of this dwarf planet, which is now the second (Pluto was the first) in a newly proposed subcategory of planets.

Let's now take a moment to describe Eris' history:

• Greek goddess of discord and strife
• stirs up jealousy and envy among men
• At the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, Eris got spiteful that she wasn't invited, and hence started a quarrel among the goddesses that eventually led to the Trojan war

Now, Eris' moon (which was jokingly called "Gabrielle" by the Xena fans) also now has an official name of Dysnomia, who, in Greek myth, is the daughter of Eris and the demon-spirit of lawlessness. These names were proposed by Mike Brown on behalf of the rest of his team, who discovered the said heavenly bodies back in October 2003.

The need to define "planet" surges.

Unless you're from another solar system, you probably know Pluto is under siege. An on going debate on new definitions will determine if Pluto will remain a planet or demoted into something else. Believe it or not, while planets have been around forever, an official definition of what they are does not exist.

If a group of Pluto lovers have it their way, the new and highly controversial definition proposed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will enable  Pluto to keep its current status as well as increase the member of our solar system.

Under the proposed definition Pluto will remain a planet. But it will lose its moon Charon, which would become a planet itself. Both would be called "plutons", to distinguish them from the eight "classical" planets. Ceres, currently an asteroid, would be upgraded to a "dwarf planet".  A Pluto-sized object known as 2003 UB313 would also be called a "pluton" making it 12th planet.

This proposed definition may have its own supporters, it also has its share of critics. Ironically, one of them is Caltech researcher Mike Brown, the man who discovered  2003 UB313. "It's flattering to be considered discoverer of the 12th planet," Brown said but added the overall proposal is "a complete mess" because that will turn at least 53 known bodies in our solar system into planets with more waiting in the wings to be discovered.

IAU members will vote on the proposal August 24.

The word "Planet" is not what it used to be. In fact, there is no standard definition for it right now and that is causing some problems. But historians, educators and astronomers have teamed up to come up with a definition for the word planet by September.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is expected to propose wording to separate planets from other small, round objects at its 12-day General Assembly meeting in Prague this August.

The what-is-a-planet problem dates back to the late 1990s when astronomers discovered several Pluto-like objects in the distant reaches of our solar system. All the new-found objects, some smaller others bigger than Pluto, were categorized as planets because they were round and orbited the Sun - the two main qualifications for this type of heavenly body.

The rest of the article awaits after the jump!