In 2005, the dwarf planet Eris was discovered at a distance of 97 Astronomical Units (each AU roughly equates to the average distance between the Earth and the Sun). So far, this was the most distant object in the solar system. Now, 10 years later, a new planet has usurped the top spot: its name is V774104 and it is three times farther away than Pluto, 103 astronomical units away.
V774104 is a dwarf planet , between 500-800 kilometers in diameter and whose orbit has not yet been determined. It is located 103 astronomical units, beyond the edge of the Kuiper belt, which has made it the most distant object in our solar system.
” We cannot explain the orbits of these objects by what we know about the solar system ,” explains Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington DC, (USA) and leader of the study.
Its discovery has been possible thanks to the Japanese Subaru telescope of 8.2 meters in diameter and located at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii. This telescope provides a wide field of view, ideal for finding foreign objects.
Once its orbit is determined, we can locate it within icy worlds such as Neptune if its orbit approaches the Sun or within stranger worlds such as Sedna or 2012 VP113, located beyond the known edge of the Solar System.
The finding has been presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
