Scientists have discovered the most-distant body ever observed in our solar system — located over 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.
About:
The new object has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18.
It is nicknamed “Farout” by the team for its extremely distant location.
It is at about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. This makes it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU.
The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris, at about 96 AU. Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than Pluto.
Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet.
The new object has been discovered by a team of scientists from U.S as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant solar system objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9.
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