New Dwarf Planet?

Astronomers have uncovered a potential new dwarf planet that lies beyond Neptune, orbiting in the Kuiper belt.

18:43 18 July 2016

Using Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered an object believed to be a new dwarf planet in our solar system. Named RR245 by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, the object is said to be roughly 700 kilometres in size and orbiting in the disk of small icy worlds beyond Neptune.

 

The team of astronomers found the planet as part of the ongoing Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS) and said that it has one of the largest orbits for a dwarf planet.

 

Michele Bannister, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Victoria in British Columbia who is working on the survey, said: "There it was on the screen— this dot of light moving so slowly that it had to be at least twice as far as Neptune from the Sun.”

 

As for the exact size of the new planet, Bannister said: “It’s either small and shiny, or large and dull.”

 

Professor Brett Gladman of the University of British Columbia said that they were delighted to have found the new planet. "OSSOS was designed to map the orbital structure of the outer Solar System to decipher its history. While not designed to efficiently detect dwarf planets, we're delighted to have found one on such an interesting orbit".