The Dwarf Planet Eris

I'm currently reading Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs by Lisa Randall and in that book she makes mention of the recently discovered dwarf planet Eris. In this post, I'm finding out a little more about it. It has the following characteristics:

• diameter of 2,326 ± 12 kilometres
• slightly smaller than Pluto's diameter of 2,372 ± 4 kilometres
• mass is 0.27% that of Earth (would be 0.61% if same composition)
• mass is about 27% larger than that of Pluto (hence it is rockier)
• highly eccentric orbit (0.44 with aphelion of 97.651 AU and perihelion of 37.911 AU)
• orbital period of 558.04 years
• has one known moon, Dysnomia, with a diameter of 700±120 kilometres
• may be in a 17:5 resonance with Neptune although is not confirmed
• has an albedo of 0.96, higher than that of any other large body in the Solar System except Enceladus
• classified as a TNO (TransNeptunian Object) and SDO (Scattered Disk Object)
• classified as a plutoid or ice dwarf and a trans-Neptunian dwarf planet, i.e. a body orbiting beyond Neptune that is massive enough to be rounded in shape. 
• its orbit is titled at about 44˚ to the ecliptic

Here is a diagram of its orbit taken from Wikipedia:

From an astrological perspective, the following excerpt from the Wikipedia entry is relevant:

Because of the high inclination of its orbit, Eris only passes through a few constellations of the traditional Zodiac; it is now in the constellation Cetus. It was in Sculptor from 1876 until 1929 and Phoenix from roughly 1840 until 1875. In 2036 it will enter Pisces and stay there until 2065, when it will enter Aries. It will then move into the northern sky, entering Perseus in 2128 and Camelopardalis (where it will reach its northernmost declination) in 2173.

What of the mythological significance of Eris and Dynomia? This astrologically relevant website has this to say about them:

Eris is the Greek god of strife. Due to her exclusion from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, a sea-goddess, spiteful Eris, aroused lust and conflict amongst the goddesses (Hera/power, Athena/wealth, and Aphrodite/love, beauty and rapture) which led to the Trojan war by offering a "golden apple" to the fairest of the three. In short, Zeus proclaimed Paris, the handsome prince of Troy, to act as judge. Paris choose Aphrodite with her promise that Helen, the wife of Menelaus, would become his wife. This ultimately led to the abduction of Helen by Paris and subsequently the 10-year long Trojan war (1194 to 1184 BC.) and its ramifications. (Ref: Iliad & Odyssey)

Eris' daughter, Dysnomia ... is said to be the "spirit of lawlessness"—disrupter of civil order. Eris, however, had two daughters, Dysnomia and the opposite and peaceable one, Eunomia, who ends strife, returns order and maintaines social stability. 

The author of this same website has some interesting things to say about the discovery of Eris challenging patriarchal society:

The discovery and naming of Eris confronts patriarchal authority in a few ways. Provisionally as Xena and then formally as Eris, the female names directly confront our solar system's male dominance, as all major planets have male names, except for Venus. The creation of the Dwarf Planet category also rightfully raised the status of Ceres, mother of the asteroids (a female), as a Dwarf Planet, now at par with Eris and Pluto. Eris also put an end to Pluto delineating the planetary boundary to our solar system, the final masculine planet of death, giving the final word, and hiding what lies beyond. Pluto now is but a gate keeper to more transcendent realms of consciousness.

In fact, the author, Nick Anthony Fiorenza, has written several other articles about Eris including:

• The Path of Eris & The Eris Synodic Cycles 2003 - 2016
• Eris, The Great Disrupter, Revati & the Global Economic Crisis of 2008
• Disclosure & Discovery. New Frontiers in Consciousness 2016-2017. Uranus-Eris opposite Haumea

I should read these and perhaps make additions to this blog post later. The article that I did read and have quoted from here was certainly interesting despite suffering from some horrific misspellings as well as chronic verbosity and a proclivity to astro-babble.

Astrolog does not track the position of Eris but this website does, along with Centaurs, TNOs, Asteroids & Planets. Interestingly, just a quick look at the site shows that the exact placement of Ceres is still a problem depending on who you believe. The site just alluded to lists its position today (22nd February 2018) as being in 6˚56' of Leo while Astrolog reports 6˚47 of Leo and Stellarium reports 7˚26' of Leo.