The Solar System - Word Search - PUZZLE #44 ERIS - August 2025

PUZZLE #44 - ERIS 

IN-CONTEXT WORD DEFINITIONS

Scattered Disk: This is a dynamic region of the outer Solar System beyond the Kuiper Belt. Eris is considered a scattered disk object (SDO) because its orbit is highly eccentric and inclined, thought to have been "scattered" to its current path by gravitational interactions with Neptune.

Dysnomia: Dysnomia is the only known moon of Eris. It was discovered in 2005 and is significantly smaller than Eris. Observations of Dysnomia's orbit around Eris allowed astronomers to accurately determine Eris's mass. It is named after the Greek daemon of lawlessness and the daughter of Eris.

White: Eris's surface is predominantly covered in highly reflective ices, mainly methane and nitrogen ice, which give it a whitish appearance. This high albedo contributes to Eris being one of the brightest objects in the outer Solar System.

Discord: This word reflects the name of Eris. Eris is named after the Greek goddess of discord and strife, a fitting name given the controversy surrounding its discovery and its role in the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet. The discovery of Eris, a TNO more massive than Pluto, prompted the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to formalize the definition of a planet and establish the dwarf planet category.

Faraway: Eris is currently the most distant known dwarf planet from the Sun, making it a "faraway" object in our solar system. Its highly eccentric orbit takes it to extreme distances, much further than Pluto's.

Massive: Eris is notably massive for a dwarf planet. When first discovered, it was estimated to be larger than Pluto, and subsequent measurements confirmed it to be slightly more massive than Pluto, making it the most massive known dwarf planet. This mass was determined by observing the orbit of its moon, Dysnomia.

Density: Eris has a relatively high density, estimated to be around 2.52 g/cm³, suggesting a composition of roughly 70% rock and 30% ice. This density is higher than Pluto's and provides clues about its internal structure and formation.

Tidally Locked: Observations suggest that Eris and Dysnomia are likely tidally locked to each other. This means that both bodies always show the same face to each other as they orbit their common center of mass, similar to Pluto and Charon.

Plutoid: Eris is classified as a plutoid, which is a sub-category of dwarf planets. A plutoid is a dwarf planet that orbits beyond Neptune and is massive enough for its gravity to pull it into a nearly spherical shape. This classification arose after the discovery of Eris and the subsequent debate about planetary definitions.

Secret Word: Similar to "Discord," this also relates to the mythological Eris and the circumstances surrounding the celestial body's discovery. The existence of an object larger and more massive than Pluto led to intense debate among astronomers about the definition of a planet.