Astronomers Discover a Possible New Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System
Source: Wired ·
Lying beyond Pluto, 2026 ED138 could be as large as 1,500 kilometers in diameter. Astronomers are still working to confirm whether it meets the criteria for a dwarf planet.
From the source
Scientists are on the verge of confirming the discovery of another member of the solar system, a potential dwarf planet. Astronomers at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile located the object, provisionally named 2026 ED138. The prospective planet measures somewhere between 600 and 1,500 kilometers in diameter and is located about 46 astronomical units from the sun (an astronomical unit being Earth’s approximate distance from the sun). For comparison, Pluto —which is also now considered a dwarf planet—orbits at an average distance of 40 astronomical units. Based on its location, ED138 belongs to the population of trans-Neptunian objects . According to its discoverers, it could be one of the brightest known objects of this type and also among the largest. Like Pluto, the possible Dwarf planet’s orbit is tilted relative to the plane on which the planets orbit. The difference between a planet and a dwarf planet is largely their environment. While both orbit the sun and have sufficient…