X is for (planet) Xena

Well, sort of.

The official name of this celestial object is 2003 UB313. But it was nicknamed Xena by it's discoverers - less of a mouthful than 2003 UB313. It may someday receive a different name, if and when it is declared a planet.


It is estimated to be larger than Pluto, but many astronomers say that Pluto would not be declared a planet if it was discovered today. Pluto, after all is smaller than our moon, and since it was found in the 1930s there have been a large number of trans-Neptunian objects located in the far reaches of our solar system.

Still, if we can include Pluto, why not have the larger Xena become the 10th planet. It even has a moon, appropriately named Gabrielle (the real Xena's trusty sidekick, for any uninitiates out there).

Xena and Gabrielle

Here is what the discovers have to say about Xena's companion:
What is the moon called?
Sadly, the committees deciding the fate of 2003 UB313 and its name have still come to no decisions. Since we get tired of saying a name with 9 syllables, we still call the tenth planet by our original code name, Xena. The moon officially goes by the name of S/2005 (2003 UB313) 1. Depending on how you count, that is something like 15 syllables.. It should come as no surprise to some, then, that we very quickly decided to call the moon by the code name Gabrielle. We look forward to the day that the committees finally decides and both of these bodies can get permanent names. In the meantime we are glad that Xena and Gabrielle are together again.