"The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the name of a new dwarf planet to join the existing four in the solar system," say our friends at Space.com.

The name of our new jellybean-shaped planet is Haumea, after a Hawaiian goddess of fertility and childbirth. It has the same diameter of Pluto but is thinner and longer, and is composed entirely of rock with an crunchy, icy crust. The new dwarf planet has two moons, Hi'iaka and Namaka (named for the children of the mythological Haumea), and it spins on its own axis once every 4 hours -- that is what gives it its oblong shape.

Welcome to the neighborhood! It joins other sub-planetary objects Ceres, Pluto, Eris and Makemake. The cosmic line-up stands thus: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea.

It's really interesting how, once astronomers broaden the scope of what they are looking for in our galaxy, how many things are out there to discover.