The dwarf planet, formerly known as 2003 UB313 (or Xena), is now called Eris, after the
Greek goddess of discord and strife.
These time-lapse images of a newfound planet in our solar system, called
2003 UB313, were taken on Oct. 21, 2003, using the Samuel Oschin Telescope
at the Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The planet, circled in
white, is seen moving across a field of stars. The three images were taken
about 90 minutes apart.
A joint effort between JPL and the California Institute of Technology,
the Palomar Observatory near San Diego houses a collection of famous
telescopes, including the Hale 200-inch and Samuel Oschin 48-inch
telescopes. The Palomar Adaptive Optics System, built by JPL and Caltech,
corrects for the atmospheric blur of astronomical targets caused by
turbulence in Earth's atmosphere. This system's camera was built by
Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.