Ruth Patrick Science Education Center Observatory
Solar System Series - Dwarf Planet Eris
October 2020 2020 brought strangeness with COVID. While COVID did not impact this geocache, a collapsing bridge and someone with wire cutters did. This excellent geocache originally hung from the bridge, making it fun and unique. The new location is away from the bridge and the water. As you visit, please try to imagine the original hide and how much fun that must have been. Maybe you can feel a little sorry for this cache that had to vacate its lofty hiding spot because of circumstances beyond its control. :)
The Dwarf Planet Eris cache is part of the solar system cache series that forms an immersive, scaled model of our solar system in the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA). The 5-meter (16.4-feet) dome of the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center (RPSEC) Observatory represents the diameter of the Sun known as Sol. The distance from the observatory to this cache is over 22 miles, which is the average distance of the orbit of Eris around the Sun. The geocache itself is an ammo can with an image of Eris attached to the outside. The image of Eris is scaled to the proper size if the Sun was 5 meters in diameter.
Eris is one of the dwarf planets. Here are the Dwarf planets listed in order by distance from the Sun. Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris.
Eris Facts:
- Eris is nearly the same size as Pluto
- Eris takes 557 Earth Years to orbit the Sun
- Eris was discovered in January 2005
- A day on Eris lasts 25.9 Earth hours.
- Eris is named for the ancient Greek goddess of discord and strife.
- Dysnomia is the moon of Eris, and named after the mythological daughter of the Greek goddess.
- The temperature of Eris is between -243 and -217 °C
| Eris Distances with Sun Diameter = 5 m. |
|
Diameter cm
|
Diameter in
|
Orbit km
|
Orbit mi
|
|
|
0.33
|
36.39
|
22.61
|
The container is an ammo can that is hidden in an unusual way. There is good parking for about three cars at the included parking waypoint.
Be sure to obtain the code from the cache container in order to find the final Sun cache location.
All First Day Finders (FDF) receive a FDF Award Card.
Congratulations to Hiking2175 who sought and was FTF Dwarf Planet Eris.
RPSEC Solar System Series:
- RPSEC Mercury - http://coord.info/GC3HQQH
- RPSEC Venus - http://coord.info/GC3JGQ4
- RPSEC Earth - http://coord.info/GC3V76Q
- RPSEC Mars - http://coord.info/GC41QMY
- RPSEC Dwarf Planet Ceres - http://coord.info/GC4342F
- RPSEC Jupiter - http://coord.info/GC49K1F
- RPSEC Saturn - http://coord.info/GC532M6
- RPSEC Uranus - http://coord.info/GC5FFXH
- RPSEC Neptune - http://coord.info/GC5QGBB
- RPSEC Dwarf Planet Pluto - http://coord.info/GC63TR7
- RPSEC Dwarf Planet Haumea - http://coord.info/GC6BXJ4
- RPSEC Dwarf Planet Makemake - http://coord.info/GC6F1RZ
- RPSEC Dwarf Planet Eris - http://coord.info/GC6HVTA
- RPSEC Sun - https://coord.info/GC6VW9W - get the cache codes from the first 13 Solar System Series caches to find the Sun.
Solar System in One Day Honor Roll. Find all of the above caches in one day and be included in the honor roll located on the RPSEC Sun page.
- RPSEC Ultima Thule - http://coord.info/GC81EPX