Who the hell is Buffy?

Due to a recent post about Pluto's planetary demotion, I proposed that if Pluto regained it's status, then Buffy should be a planet, too! So, here's the low down on Buffy!

Could the outer solar system harbor planetary samples nabbed from a passing star?

That's a question some astronomers are asking as they try to explain "Buffy," a recently discovered, frigid mini-planet 300 to 600 miles across. It orbits the sun just beyond the edge of the Kuiper Belt, a broad swath of icy objects that extends far beyond Neptune.

Because of its odd orbital features, when it comes to testing ideas about how the solar system formed, this new object may become known as Buffy the Theory Slayer.

Buffy orbits the sun once every 440 years

Buffy orbits the sun once every 440 years at a distance ranging from 52 to 62 astronomical units from the sun (one AU is 93 million miles).

Buffy's arresting traits begin with its nearly circular orbit. Those of its nearest neighbors are more elliptical. More puzzling, Buffy's orbit is severely tilted compared with those of planets, comets, and Kuiper Belt objects - some 47 degrees off kilter from the rest of the solar system. It's a feature that defies all but the most convoluted explanations for how the solar system achieved its current structure, some astronomers say.

This info was written by By Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
For the rest of Peter's story, click on the pic!