Quaoar
50000 Quaoar is a large, ringed dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a region of icy planetesimals beyond Neptune. The object was discovered on 4 June 2002. Following the International Astronomical Union's naming convention for minor planets, non-resonant Kuiper belt objects are to be named after creation deities. The team settled on the name Kwawar, the creator god of the Tongva people indigenous to the Los Angeles Basin.
Bad-tempered bear rampages through Chinese village.
A presumed porridge stealing incident went poorly in Xinjiang, China, when an extremely grumpy bear took exception to humans meddling in his business.
Sun (men (emergency responders) quincunx Quaoar (bears) quincunx Pholus (food and drink (porridge stealing incident)).
Emergency responders turning up at the farm where the bear was spotted, tried to catch him with a noose, at which point the bear replied, 'Noose? I'll give you a f\*\**ing noose! Hold my beer Sharon...'
A rooftop chase followed, miraculously ending in no injuries, since no one took the bear up on his offer for a fist fight.
Butterfly species named after Lord of the Rings villain Sauron. Natural History Museum
Scientists have named a new group of butterflies after the villain Sauron from the Lord of the Rings novels.
Mercury (scientific) trine Quaoar (use of animal totem) quincunx Makemake (data collection to support a doctrine or cause (the Natural History Museum hopes the unusual title will draw attention to the species and help generate more research)).
Experts hit on the name Saurona because the black rings on the insect's orange wings reminded them of the all-seeing eye described in JRR Tolkien's books.
The Natural History Museum in London hopes the unusual title will draw attention to the species and help generate more research.
People participate in a fire war ceremony, locally called "Siat Geni", at Duda Village in Bali, Indonesia. Photo by Bisinglasi/Xinhua
Balinese take part in a traditional event that involves dancing as well as other ceremonies. The 'Fire War' dances are performed with torches made of coconut leaves and believed to purify nature, and ask for harmony and a strengthening of the sense of connection among residents.
Mars (physical energy, heat, warriors) conjunct Quaoar (songs and dances of cultural or spiritual origin, harmony, syncopation, rhythm) conjunct Pholus (ceremonial).
The fire war begins with a ceremony in the temple where all participants must pray and receive holy water before entering the war.
Life as a young Native American in South Dakota. Filmed, edited and produced by Benjamin Zand
BBC's Benjamin Zand recently did a brief Pop Up documentary showing that life on South Dakota reservations can be tough, but many are determined to move beyond the negative stereotypes and chart their own course in life.
Quaoar (creative, inspiring, possibility oriented) conjunct Galactic Center (27 sa 03' 25"). Mars (dynamic energy, active) sextile Eris (recognition of the potency of one's energy and life force (determined to move beyond the negative stereotypes and chart their own course in life)) sextile Ixion (second efforts and chances, reset buttons) sextile Pelion (self-confidence for effort and the climb to accomplishment in life) trine Haumea (creative, regenerative, able to reconstruct, redefine, transform, especially regarding consciousness). Mercury (expressive, adaptable) square Rhadamanthus (cutting cords with a judgmental past) sextile Salacia (driven, determined, resourceful) trine Elatus (self improvement courses). Mean Node (14 li 53'8" Rx) square Okyrhoe (mental attitude programs (young people are all too aware of the tough reality they face)).
Life on Indian reservations in the US is often marked by a combination of crushing poverty and chronic alcoholism. In South Dakota, where 70,000 Native Americans live on various reservations, young people are all too aware of the tough reality they face.
Discovery
2002 LM60/50000 Quaoar is a Kuiper belt object roughly half the size of Pluto, with a diameter of 1110 +- 5 km. It is large enough and massive enough that it is probably a dwarf planet. Its orbit in the Kuiper belt is not in resonance with Neptune, which means it is a classical Kuiper belt object. Quaoar has one known moon, Weywot.
Quaoar was discovered in 2002 and its moon in 2007. It was named after the Tongva creator deity and its moon after his son.
Signs of water ice have been found, which suggests that cryovolcanism may be occurring. A small amount of methane is present on Quaoar's surface, which can only be retained by the largest Kuiper belt objects.
Quaoar is named for the Tongva creator god, following International Astronomical Union naming conventions for non-resonant Kuiper belt objects. The Tongva are the native people of the area around Los Angeles, where the discovery of Quaoar was made. Quaoar was discovered on June 4, 2002.
Because Quaoar is a binary object, the mass of the system can be calculated from the orbit of the secondary. Quaoar's estimated density of around 2.2 g/cm3 and estimated size of 1,100 km suggests that it is a dwarf planet.
Light-curve-amplitude analysis shows only small deviations, suggesting that Quaoar is indeed a spheroid with small albedo spots and hence a dwarf planet.
Quaoar orbits at about 43.3 astronomical units (6.48x109 km; 4.02x109 mi) from the Sun with an orbital period of 284.5 years. Its orbit is nearly circular and moderately inclined at approximately 8 degrees, typical for the population of small classical Kuiper-belt objects (KBO) but exceptional among the large KBO.
Pluto, Makemake, Haumea, Orcus, Varuna, and Salacia are all on highly inclined, more eccentric orbits.
