New dwarf planet discovered in distant reaches of solar system
Posted: Thu, Mar 27, 2014, 7:13 AM ET (1113 GMT)
Astronomers said Wednesday they have detected a body in the distant reaches of the solar system similar that may provide new evidence for an unseen larger object even farther away. Object 2012 VP113, unofficially nicknamed "Biden," comes no closer to the Sun than 80 astronomical units, a more distant perihelion that Sedna, a dwarf planet discovered in 2003 with a perihelion of 76 AU. Sedna, though, has a more distant aphelion, 937 AU versus 472 for VP113, and has a diameter roughly twice that of VB113's estimated 450 kilometers. The two objects, though, suggest that there may be as many of 900 bodies with sizes and orbits similar to Sedna and VP113. Astronomers speculate that a distant massive body farther out in the solar system, potentially several times larger than the Earth, could perturb objects into these elliptical orbits, although there is no direct observational evidence for such an object.
Astronomers said Wednesday they have detected a body in the distant reaches of the solar system similar that may provide new evidence for an unseen larger object even farther away. Object 2012 VP113, unofficially nicknamed "Biden," comes no closer to the Sun than 80 astronomical units, a more distant perihelion that Sedna, a dwarf planet discovered in 2003 with a perihelion of 76 AU. Sedna, though, has a more distant aphelion, 937 AU versus 472 for VP113, and has a diameter roughly twice that of VB113's estimated 450 kilometers. The two objects, though, suggest that there may be as many of 900 bodies with sizes and orbits similar to Sedna and VP113. Astronomers speculate that a distant massive body farther out in the solar system, potentially several times larger than the Earth, could perturb objects into these elliptical orbits, although there is no direct observational evidence for such an object.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, March 15
Lunar lander snaps mesmerizing views of a solar eclipse
Popular Science — 8:40 am ET (1240 GMT) Blue Ghost lander captured a solar eclipse while on the moon. See the stunning imagery here
CNN — 8:40 am ET (1240 GMT) Sidus Space LizzieSat-3 to Launch March 14, 2025, with Next Generation AI-Driven Space-to-Space Data Relay
Business Wire — 8:39 am ET (1239 GMT) Chinese Citizen Who Flew Drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base Pleads Guilty
Santa Barbara (CA) Independent — 8:38 am ET (1238 GMT) Vandenberg Space Force Base marks record launches in 2024, looks ahead
Lompoc Record — 8:38 am ET (1238 GMT) |
