In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists using a Chile-based telescope have identified an icy object orbiting beyond Pluto that may join our solar system’s compact roster of dwarf planets.
The candidate, dubbed 2026 ED138 has a diameter estimated between 370 and 930 miles and is approximately orbiting about 46 times farther from the sun than Earth. The object was identified using the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory on the summit of the Cerro Pachon mountain in central Chile. All eyes are on its confirmation to determine whether 2026 ED138 will join five other dwarf planets recognized by the International Astronomical Union.
These include Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Make which orbit beyond the planet Neptune, which is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
In this connection, astrophysicist Matt Holman of the Center for Astrophysics said: “ For me, what this demonstrates is that many exciting discoveries remain to be made with the Rubin Observatory and other telescopes.”
Pluto was long considered the solar system’s ninth and outermost planet but it was reclassified by the International Astronomical Union as a dwarf planet in 2006 because it failed to satisfy the official planetary criteria. Pluto and the newly discovered dwarf planet candidate dwell at the top of the world populated by various icy bodies.
Nonetheless, in order to be considered a dwarf planet, a celestial body must have enough mass to achieve hydrostatic equilibrium; and while the trans-Neptunian object 2026 ED138 seems massive enough to be nearly spherical, additional data are required to confirm its shape.
