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
|
|
Tuesday, February 17
ESA Boss Couches Lunar Plans In Security Terms
Aviation Week — 1:43 am ET (0643 GMT) U.S. Smuggled Thousands of Starlink Terminals Into Iran After Protest Crackdown
Wall Street Journal — 1:42 am ET (0642 GMT) 700-plus Space Command personnel in Alabama by end of 2028, Sen. Katie Britt says
Huntsville Times — 1:41 am ET (0641 GMT) Space Race 2.0: The Competition for the Future Operating System of Space
The Diplomat — 1:35 am ET (0635 GMT) Creating New Launchpads for Space Exploration
Dartmouth Univ. — 1:35 am ET (0635 GMT) |
