And no, I do not think this was the star Jesus was born under, even though it looks like a cross in the sky.Eris was just named a little over a year ago, and many scientists prior to its naming have known it as 2003 UB 313. The discovery of this planet was attributed to perturbations in the neighboring planets.
These perturbations, or disruptions in planetary dynamics is what led to the search for the mystery planet also known as planet X during the search phase. This planet may have also been depicted by the ancient Sumerians as Nibiru. For many years Eris has evaded detection because of its elliptical orbit that travels outside the norm of our regular planets. The size of Eris is estimated at 1.27 times the size of Pluto making it a dwarf planet.
While there is some controversy as to the date this planet will be visible it is expected to pass closest to the Sun in the year 2258 completing a 557 year orbit. However this number does not agree with that of the ancient Sumerians and the Aztec's who claim Planet X will pass our Sun as soon as 2012 completing a 3,600 year orbit. For this reason it is entirely possible that Eris is not the same planet mentioned in the ancient tablets.
However, this new planet also has aroused the attention of some in the religious community who have said on numerous videos on the web that Nibiru at its closest point will dramatically impact the Earth. There already may be some strange coincidences going on now, some in particular is the magnetic disruptions at the earths poles, and the accelerated slowing of the Earth's rotation. These could very well lead to extreme cosmic influence over Earthly dynamics resulting in the unbeliavable stories mentioned in the Bible.
At its closest point Eris will look like a "Bright Orange" cross in the sky, (only visible with a telescope) likened to the description's of the "End of Days" written in the bible. How the ancient Sumerians knew of our planetary arrangement in the solar system is yet another astounding mystery to emerge from the Iraqi region. Unfortunately, the U.S. led invasion into Iraq has resulted in the loss of many priceless artifacts belonging to the ancient Sumerians who were the first modern civilization to accurately chart the Solar system.
One last point to mention "Eris" is the greek goddess of "strife" and "discord" perhaps a fitting name for the celestial object that may have been responsible for colliding with our planet earth, hence creating our moon. Also Eris may not be a planet as it has been the subject of the same scientific disagreement as Pluto.
Religious zealots can relax, I gave this my best shot and can firmly conclude that this is not the "death star" mentioned in the bible. It does not even to appear to be the mystery planet mentioned by the Sumerians either.
For any avid planet watchers, hold on to your telescope because Eris will not be visible to the northern hemsiphere until the latter part of 2009. To get details on NASA'a 10th planet see the SPT or South Pole Telescope.
