136199 Eris - not Xena

[Astronuc]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwarf_planet#List_of_dwarf_planets

Eris (officially designated 136199 Eris), informally known by the nickname Xena, is the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system. Previously designated 2003 UB313, it was nicknamed "Xena" by its discoverers. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO), it orbits the Sun in a region of space known as the scattered disc accompanied by at least one moon, Dysnomia; the pair are currently the most distant known objects in the solar system. Mike Brown, who led the Mount Palomar-based discovery team, announced in April 2006 that the Hubble Telescope has measured Eris' diameter to be 2400 km, slightly larger than Pluto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/136199_Eris

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/special/08747.pdf

I would have preferred 'Xena'!

[Retrospector]

Eventually they'll run out of names in the Greek and Roman pantheons. I guess the point of using such "dignified" names is that they've been around for millenia and can be expected to last a while longer, whereas pop culture names like "Xena" may be unknown in a generation. I don't know about Eris, mean goddess that she was, but I guess some alternative had to be found to "Xena".

There was another object that was tagged "Buffy", with an extremely high orbital inclination:

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060114/bob10.asp

I wonder if that one will be renamed shortly as well.

[Astronuc]

Well, we still have the Norse gods and goddesses, then there are the Egyptian, Mayan, Toltec, Aztec, Inca, . . . . pantheons.  Well then there is the 33 million Hindu gods and godesses.  I think we are covered - maybe.  It all depends on how many objects there are in the asteroid belt, and the KB.