And this just in from the space watching community: Pluto might be experiencing a really bad 21st Century, as the dwarf planet may not actually be even the largest dwarf planet as was originally presumed. Eris, a large rocky body within the Kuiper Belt, was found to be 100 kilometers wider in diameter, but was assumed to be less dense than Pluto.

Michael Brown, the original discoverer of Eris, along with Emily Schaller, both from the California Institute of Technology, also discovered that Eris is 16.6 billion trillion kilograms. Their estimate was derived from an observation of the body's satellite orbit through the Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory.

Just last year, Pluto was demoted to what the International Astronomical Union called a dwarf planet, which in their eyes can't qualify as a true planet. People who've had a soft side for the former ninth celestial body of our solar system took this news for disappointment. And this new development may dampen their spirits even more.

But Frank Bertoldi of the University of Bonn in Germany believes that not everyone was fazed by the IAU's decision. "The schoolkids still like Pluto whether it's a minor planet, a dwarf planet, or a planet. Pluto is Pluto, and it will stay out there no matter what we call it," he said.

Bertoldi is sure that Eris will not be able to hold it's current crown as the largest dwarf planet in our solar system. There are other portions of the Kuiper Belt that haven't been explored, according to Bertoldi, and it's possible a larger one is hidden within its mysterious ring.

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.