Astronomers have discovered a potential dwarf planet beyond Neptune’s orbit, challenging the idea of an undiscovered ninth planet in our solar system. The celestial body, 2017 OF201, orbits the sun every 25,000 years and has an enormous diameter of approximately 435 miles. Its existence raises questions about the nature of our solar system’s outer reaches.
Researchers from the US and Canada identified the object using images from several telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope. The body is a trans-Neptunian object, located in a region previously thought to be empty. It travels farther than the Kuiper Belt, where thousands of similar objects have been discovered, including Pluto.
The object’s orbit is unusual, with its perihelion (closest point to the sun) being 44.5 times that of Earth’s orbit. It last reached this point in 1930, when Pluto was discovered. The discovery suggests that there could be other, similar objects in the solar system, but they are too distant to detect.
The finding has implications for understanding our solar system and the search for Planet Nine. Some researchers believe it may suggest that Planet Nine does not exist, as its orbit does not follow a standard pattern seen in other trans-Neptunian objects. However, others argue that the object’s instability means it provides little evidence for or against the existence of Planet Nine.
The discovery was made by lead author Sihao Cheng and his colleagues using an algorithm developed to identify bright spots in astronomical images. The team identified 2017 OF201 in 19 separate observations over seven years.
Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-discover-a-possible-dwarf-planet-far-beyond-neptune-where-there-should-have-only-been-empty-space-180986703