A newly discovered object is the most-distant body ever observed in the solar system — and the first object ever found orbiting at more than 100 times the distance from Earth to the sun.

The discovery team nicknamed the object "Farout," and its provisional designation from the International Astronomical Union is 2018 VG18. Preliminary research suggests it's a round, pinkish dwarf planet. The same team spotted a faraway dwarf planet nicknamed "The Goblin" in October.

"All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the sun, its approximate diameter, and its color," David Tholen, a researcher at the University of Hawaii and part of the discovery team, said in a statement. "Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun." [The Evidence for 'Planet Nine' in Our Solar System (Gallery)]

The location of 2018 VG18 compared to the orbits of other solar system objects. It lives up to its nickname "Farout"! (Image credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa/Carnegie Institution for Science)

Farout is 120 astronomical units (AU) from the sun — one AU is the distance between Earth and the sun, which is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers). The object is more than 3.5 times the current distance between Pluto and the sun (34 AU), and it outpaces the previous farthest-known solar system object, the dwarf planet Eris, which is currently about 96 AU from the sun. NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft recently entered interstellar space at about 120 AU, leaving the sun's "sphere of influence" called the heliopause, where bodies experience the solar wind.

To be clear: The record Farout now holds is for the most-distant solar system body ever observed. That doesn't mean no other objects get farther away from the sun than 120 AU. In fact, we know some that do. The dwarf planet Sedna gets more than 900 AU away on its highly elliptical orbit, for example, and there are probably trillions of comets in the Oort Cloud, which lies between about 5,000 AU and 100,000 AU from the sun.

Farout was first spotted using the Subaru 8-meter telescope in Hawaii in November, and then a follow-up measurement in early December by the Magellan telescope in Chile confirmed its existence. According to those observations, the object is likely about 500 km across, which would mean it's spherical and a dwarf planet. Its pinkish color suggests it's an ice-rich body, according to the statement.

Artist's concept of the newly discovered object 2018 VG18, nicknamed Farout, which researchers think is likely a pinkish dwarf planet. At 120 AU, the object is the farthest body ever found in the solar system. (Image credit: Roberto Molar Candanosa/Carnegie Institution for Science)

The research team is scoping out these ultradistant objects to search for the gravitational influence of a theorized super-Earth-size Planet Nine, also called Planet X, that researchers have posited orbits in the extreme reaches of the solar system. The movements of several distant bodies have suggested the existence of this planet, which would be extremely faint and hard to locate.

"2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed solar system object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit," Scott Sheppard, a researcher at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., and member of the discovery team, said in the statement. "But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme solar system objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do. The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant solar system bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects."

Views from the Subaru telescope that led to the discovery of 2018 VG18, visible moving between the two frames at center. (Image credit: Scott S. Sheppard/David Tholen)

Because the proposed Planet 9 is so distant — between hundreds and thousands of AU, researchers told Space.com, the planet can alter the orbits of objects far too distant to be strongly influenced by the inner solar-system planets. That means that looking for trends in the orbits of objects like Farout can point the way to the mysterious planet, giving researchers hints of where to look for it and chances to test the powerful telescopes that might someday spot it.

"This discovery is truly an international achievement in research using telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, operated by Japan, as well as a consortium of research institutions and universities in the United States," Chad Trujillo, a researcher at Northern Arizona University and the third member of the discovery team, said in the statement. "With new wide-field digital cameras on some of the world's largest telescopes, we are finally exploring our Solar System's fringes, far beyond Pluto."

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. Original article on Space.com.</s>A Hawa‘i astronomer was part of a team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant body ever observed in the Solar System. It is the first known Solar System object that has been detected at a distance that is more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.

The new object was announced on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018, by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center and has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. The discovery was made by the University of Hawai‘i’s David Tholen, Carnegie’s Scott S. Sheppard, and Northern Arizona University’s Chad Trujillo.

2018 VG18, nicknamed “Farout” by the discovery team for its extremely distant location, is at about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The second-most-distant observed Solar System object is Eris, at about 96 AU. Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than the Solar System’s most-famous dwarf planet.

2018 VG18 was discovered as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant Solar System objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9. In October, the same group of researchers announced the discovery of another distant Solar System object, called 2015 TG387 and nicknamed “The Goblin,” because it was first seen near Halloween. The Goblin was discovered at about 80 AU and has an orbit that is consistent with it being influenced by an unseen Super-Earth-sized Planet X on the Solar System’s very distant fringes.

The existence of a ninth major planet at the fringes of the Solar System was first proposed by this same research team in 2014 when they discovered 2012 VP113, nicknamed Biden, which is currently near 84 AU.

2015 TG387 and 2012 VP113 never get close enough to the Solar System’s giant planets, like Neptune and Jupiter, to have significant gravitational interactions with them. This means that these extremely distant objects can be probes of what is happening in the Solar System’s outer reaches. The team doesn’t know 2018 VG18’s orbit very well yet, so they have not been able to determine if it shows signs of being shaped by Planet X.

“2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed Solar System object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit,” said Sheppard. “But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme Solar System objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do. The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant Solar System bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects.”

“All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the Sun, its approximate diameter, and its color,” added Tholen “Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun.”

The discovery images of 2018 VG18 were taken at the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Maunakea in Hawai‘i on Nov. 10, 2018.

Once 2018 VG18 was found, it needed to be re-observed to confirm its very distant nature. (It takes multiple nights of observing to accurately determine an object’s distance.) 2018 VG18 was seen for the second time in early December at the Magellan telescope at Carnegie’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. These recovery observations were performed by the team with the addition of graduate student Will Oldroyd of Northern Arizona University. Over the next week, they monitored 2018 VG18 with the Magellan telescope to secure its path across the sky and obtain its basic physical properties such as brightness and color.

The Magellan observations confirmed that 2018 VG18 is around 120 AU, making it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU. Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet. It has a pinkish hue, a color generally associated with ice-rich objects.

“This discovery is truly an international achievement in research using telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, operated by Japan, as well as by a consortium of research institutions and universities in the United States,” concluded Trujillo. “With new wide-field digital cameras on some of the world’s largest telescopes, we are finally exploring our Solar System’s fringes, far beyond Pluto.”

The Subaru telescope is owned and operated by Japan and the valuable telescope access that the team obtained was thanks to a combination of time allocated to the University of Hawai‘i, as well as to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) through telescope time exchanges between the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).</s>A team of astronomers has discovered the most extreme trans-Neptunian object in the outer reaches of the Solar System. Dubbed “Farout,” the object is more than 120 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. Excitingly, given preliminary estimates about its size, it could actually be a dwarf planet—but it’s still too small to qualify as the elusive Planet X.



The newly discovered object was announced earlier today by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. Many more years of observations will be required to fully characterize the object and its orbital path, but the IAU has added it to its database under the provisional name 2018 VG18, along with its coordinates and observational notes. Farout, as it’s been nicknamed, was discovered by astronomer Scott S. Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science and his colleagues at the University of Hawaii and Northern Arizona University.

Farout was first observed on November 10, 2018 by astronomers using the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The object was re-observed in early December with the Magellan telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. These multiple observations, in addition to confirming the object, were used to establish its path across the night sky, along with its size, brightness, and color.

This extreme trans-Neptunian object is about 120 astronomical units (AU) from Earth, where 1 AU is the average distance from the Earth to the Sun (about 92 million miles, or 149 million kilometers). Farout is so far out that light from the Sun takes 16 hours and 40 minutes to travel the 11-billion-mile (18-billion-kilometer) distance.



“2018 VG18 is the first object found beyond 100 AU in our Solar System,” Sheppard told Gizmodo. “It moves so slow, that it will take a few years to see enough motion of the object to determine its orbit around the Sun.”

Sheppard and his colleagues wouldn’t be surprised if a single year on Farout lasts more than 1,000 Earth years.

Pluto, by comparison, is about 34 AU from the Sun, so Farout is 3.5 times more distant. Other extreme trans-Neptunian objects include Eris at 96 AU and Goblin, which was discovered earlier this year, at 90 AU.



Astronomers don’t know much about Farout’s physical characteristics because it’s so faint.

“Based on its brightness and distance, it is likely about 500 to 600 km (310 to 372 miles) in diameter. At this size, gravity will dominate over any material strength the object might have, and thus it should be spherical in shape,” said Sheppard. “This would make it a dwarf planet. The color of the object is pinkish to red in color, which suggests it has an icy surface. Ice usually turns reddish in color after being irradiated for long periods of time from the Sun’s radiation.”

Farout was discovered as part of the search for the elusive Planet Nine, sometimes called Planet X. This hypothetical planet is thought to exist in the outer reaches of the Solar System because of the way other Kuiper Belt objects are orientated. But as Sheppard pointed out, Farout doesn’t qualify as Planet X, which is thought to be much bigger.

“Planet X needs to be several times larger than Earth in order to gravitationally push the other smaller objects around and shepherd them into similar types of orbits,” explained Sheppard. “Planet X is also likely even further away, at a few hundred AU.”

It’s reasonable to wonder how this object managed to stray so far from the Solar System’s planetary pack; astronomers won’t know the answer to this question until Farout’s orbit can be determined.

“If its orbit brings it closer in at some point, like near Neptune or one of the other giant planets, then it likely got scattered outwards to its current location and orbit by gravitationally interacting with the planet like Neptune,” said Sheppard. “If its orbit never brings it into the giant planet region in our Solar System, then it becomes a big question of how it got out there. This would suggest Planet X pulled it out to this large distance.”

Either result would be exciting; the first would help us to better understand the history of the Solar System, while the second would offer added proof that Planet X actually exists.

As a fun, final aside, sending a probe to Farout isn’t a terribly far out idea (relax, I’m wrapping up). Currently, the New Horizons probe is scheduled to visit Ultima Thule, a distant Kuiper Belt object, on New Year’s Day, and is traveling at about 36,350 miles per hour (58,500 kilometers per hour). At that speed, it would take a similar probe anywhere from between 35 to 40 years to reach Farout from Earth. Perhaps something for NASA to think about when planning for the next generation of space missions.</s>Astronomers have discovered the most distant body ever observed in our Solar System.

Nicknamed 'Farout', the new object was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center and has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18.

It is about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun, and the first known Solar System object detected at a distance of more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT FAROUT? Nicknamed 'Farout', the new object was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center and has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. It is about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Its brightness suggests that it is about 310 miles in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet. It has a pinkish hue, a color generally associated with ice-rich objects.

'All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the Sun, its approximate diameter, and its color,' said the University of Hawaii's David Tholen.

Its brightness suggests that it is about 310 miles in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet.

It has a pinkish hue, a color generally associated with ice-rich objects, the researchers say.

'Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun.'

The discovery images of 2018 VG18 were taken at the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii on November 10, 2018.

The second-most-distant observed Solar System object is Eris, at about 96 AU.

Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than the Solar System's most-famous dwarf planet.

The discovery was made by Carnegie's Scott S. Sheppard, the University of Hawaii's David Tholen, and Northern Arizona University's Chad Trujillo.

2018 VG18 was discovered as part of the team's continuing search for extremely distant Solar System objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9.

The team doesn't know 2018 VG18's orbit very well yet, so they have not been able to determine if it shows signs of being shaped by Planet X.

'2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed Solar System object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit,' said Sheppard.

'But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme Solar System objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do.

'The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant Solar System bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects.'

2018 VG18 was seen for the second time in early December at the Magellan telescope at Carnegie's Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.

These recovery observations were performed by the team with the addition of graduate student Will Oldroyd of Northern Arizona University.

Over the next week, they monitored 2018 VG18 with the Magellan telescope to secure its path across the sky and obtain its basic physical properties such as brightness and color.

The Magellan observations confirmed that 2018 VG18 is around 120 AU, making it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU.</s>Astronomers have discovered another small object in the outer solar system, the most distant solar system object yet known. Another first … it’s the first solar system object to be detected at a distance of more than 100 times Earth’s distance from the sun. The new object has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. Astronomers have given it the nickname Farout.

Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution of Science, David Tholen of the University of Hawaii and Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University co-discovered the object. The discovery images of 2018 VG18 were taken at the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii on November 10, 2018. By tracking its movement through space, the astronomers can calculate that 2018 VG18 lies at a distance of about 120 astronomical units, or Earth-sun units. A statement from these astronomers explained:

The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris, at about 96 AU. Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than 3 1/2 times more distant than the solar system’s most-famous dwarf planet. 2018 VG18 was discovered as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant solar system objects, including a suspected Planet X (with the X standing for unknown), also sometimes called Planet 9.

Indeed, it’s the Planet 9 possibility that makes this new discovery of another small object in the outer solar system so tantalizing. After all, there must be many small outer solar system bodies, moving through space, unknown to earthly astronomers. Finding them is a big deal to the Planet 9 search because the orbits of these small, outer bodies are clues to Planet 9’s whereabouts, if, indeed, it exists.

This same group of astronomers – Sheppard, Tholen and Trujillo – recently discovered another small, outer body that’s been labeled 2015 TG387 and nicknamed The Goblin, because it was first seen near Halloween 2018. Their statement explained:

The Goblin was discovered at about 80 AU and has an orbit that is consistent with it being influenced by an unseen super-Earth-sized Planet X on the solar system’s very distant fringes … 2015 TG387 and 2012 VP113 never get close enough to the solar system’s giant planets, like Neptune and Jupiter, to have significant gravitational interactions with them. This means that these extremely distant objects can be probes of what is happening in the solar system’s outer reaches. The team doesn’t know 2018 VG18’s orbit very well yet, so they have not been able to determine if it shows signs of being shaped by Planet X.

How long will it take to learn more about 2018 VG18’s orbit? Years! That’s because 2018 VG18 is so distant. Remember your Astronomy 101? The more distant the object from our sun, the slower it moves in orbit around the sun. As the most distant object yet found in our solar system, 2018 VG18 has the distinction of being slower-moving than any other observed solar system object. So, Sheppard explained:

… it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit. But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme solar system objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do.

Read more about this discovery via Carnegie Institution for Science

Bottom line: 2018 VG18 is the most distant object yet known in our solar system. It’s a small body, 120 times Earth’s distance from the sun, but it may have a big role to play in the discovery of a large, as-yet-unknown Planet X (aka Planet 9).

EarthSky lunar calendars are cool! They make great gifts. Order now. Going fast!

Want to see 2018’s brightest comet? How to see comet 46P/Wirtanen</s>Scientists have discovered the most-distant body ever observed in our solar system — located over 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun. The new object, discovered by Scott S Sheppard from Carnegie Institution for Science, David Tholen from University of Hawaii, and Chad Trujillo from Northern Arizona University in the US, has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. 2018 VG18, nicknamed “Farout” by the team for its extremely distant location, is at about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris, at about 96 AU.

Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than the solar system’s most-famous dwarf planet. 2018 VG18 was discovered as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant solar system objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9. In October, the same group of researchers announced the discovery of another distant solar system object, called 2015 TG387 and nicknamed “The Goblin,” because it was first seen near Halloween.

The Goblin was discovered at about 80 AU and has an orbit that is consistent with it being influenced by an unseen Super-Earth-sized Planet X on the solar system’s very distant fringes. The existence of a ninth major planet at the fringes of the solar system was first proposed by this same research team in 2014 when they discovered 2012 VP113, nicknamed Biden, which is currently near 84 AU. 2015 TG387 and 2012 VP113 never get close enough to the solar system’s giant planets, like Neptune and Jupiter, to have significant gravitational interactions with them.

This means that these extremely distant objects can be probes of what is happening in the solar system’s outer reaches. The team doesn’t know 2018 VG18’s orbit very well yet, so they have not been able to determine if it shows signs of being shaped by Planet X. “2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed solar system object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit,” said Sheppard. “But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme solar system objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do,” he said.

“The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant solar system bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects,” he added. “All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the Sun, its approximate diameter, and its colour,” said Tholen. “Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun,” he said. The discovery images of 2018 VG18 were taken at the Japanese Subaru 8-metre telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii on November 10, 2018.

2018 VG18 was seen for the second time in early December at the Magellan telescope at Carnegie’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Over the next week, researchers monitored 2018 VG18 with the Magellan telescope to secure its path across the sky and obtain its basic physical properties such as brightness and colour.

The Magellan observations confirmed that 2018 VG18 is around 120 AU, making it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU. Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet. It has a pinkish hue, a colour generally associated with ice-rich objects.</s>A team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant body, 2018 VG18, nicknamed “Farout” by the discovery team for its extreme location –the most distant observed in our Solar System. It is the first known Solar System object that has been detected at a distance that is more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the Sun.

“All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the Sun, its approximate diameter, and its color,” said University of Hawaii astronomer David Tholen.”Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun.”

The new object was announced on Monday, December 17, 2018, by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center and has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18. The discovery made by Carnegie’s Scott S. Sheppard, Tholen, and Northern Arizona University’s Chad Trujillo, was reported today by the Carnegie Institution for Science.

2018 VG18 is at about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. The second-most-distant observed Solar System object is Eris, at about 96 AU. Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than the Solar System’s most-famous dwarf planet.

2018 VG18 was discovered as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant Solar System objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9. In October, the same group of researchers announced the discovery of another distant Solar System object, called 2015 TG387 and nicknamed “The Goblin,” because it was first seen near Halloween. The Goblin was discovered at about 80 AU and has an orbit that is consistent with it being influenced by an unseen Super-Earth-sized Planet X on the Solar System’s very distant fringes.

The existence of a ninth major planet (image at top of page) at the fringes of the Solar System was first proposed by this same research team in 2014 when they discovered 2012 VP113, nicknamed Biden, which is currently near 84 AU.

2015 TG387 and 2012 VP113 never get close enough to the Solar System’s giant planets, like Neptune and Jupiter, to have significant gravitational interactions with them. This means that these extremely distant objects can be probes of what is happening in the Solar System’s outer reaches. The team doesn’t know 2018 VG18’s orbit very well yet, so they have not been able to determine if it shows signs of being shaped by Planet X.

“2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed Solar System object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit,” said Sheppard. “But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme Solar System objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do. The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant Solar System bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects.”

The discovery images of 2018 VG18 were taken at the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii on November 10, 2018.

Once 2018 VG18 was found, it needed to be re-observed to confirm its very distant nature. (It takes multiple nights of observing to accurately determine an object’s distance.) 2018 VG18 was seen for the second time in early December at the Magellan telescope at Carnegie’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Over the next week, they monitored 2018 VG18 with the Magellan telescope to secure its path across the sky and obtain its basic physical properties such as brightness and color.

The Magellan observations confirmed that 2018 VG18 is around 120 AU, making it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU. Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet. It has a pinkish hue, a color generally associated with ice-rich objects.

“This discovery is truly an international achievement in research using telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, operated by Japan, as well as by a consortium of research institutions and universities in the United States,” concluded Trujillo. “With new wide-field digital cameras on some of the world’s largest telescopes, we are finally exploring our Solar System’s fringes, far beyond Pluto.”

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“Humans are the First to Arrive at the Interstellar Stage” –Physicist Answers the Fermi Paradox</s>For the first time, an object in our solar system has been found more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the sun.

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday, calling the object 2018 VG18. But the researchers who found it are calling it “Farout.”

They believe the spherical object is a dwarf planet more than 310 miles in diameter, with a pinkish hue. That color has been associated with objects that are rich in ice, and given its distance from the sun, that isn’t hard to believe. Its slow orbit probably takes more than 1,000 years to make one trip around the sun, the researchers said.

The distance between the Earth and the sun is an AU, or astronomical unit — the equivalent of about 93 million miles. Farout is 120 AU from the sun. Eris, the next most distant object known, is 96 AU from the sun. For reference, Pluto is 34 AU away.

The object was found by the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Scott S. Sheppard, the University of Hawaii’s David Tholen and Northern Arizona University’s Chad Trujillo — and it’s not their first discovery.

The team has been searching for a super-Earth-size planet on the edge of our solar system, known as Planet Nine or Planet X, since 2014. They first suggested the existence of this possible planet in 2014 after finding “Biden” at 84 AU. Along the way, they have discovered more distant solar system objects suggesting that the gravity of something massive is influencing their orbit.

Farout was found using the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea in November. Follow-up observations with Carnegie’s Las Campanas Observatory’s Magellan telescope in Chile determined its path, brightness, and color.

“This discovery is truly an international achievement in research using telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, operated by Japan, as well as by a consortium of research institutions and universities in the United States,” Trujillo said in a statement. “With new wide-field digital cameras on some of the world’s largest telescopes, we are finally exploring our Solar System’s fringes, far beyond Pluto.”

In October, the team announced the discovery of “the Goblin” at 80 AU; it’s so named because the distant solar system object was first spotted near Halloween.

It’s unlikely that these objects are influenced by the gravity of gas giants Neptune and Uranus because they never get close enough to them — which indicates that something else is determining their orbits.

Farout’s orbit is yet to be determined.

“2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed Solar System object so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit,” Sheppard said in a statement. “But it was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme Solar System objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do. The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant Solar System bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects.”</s>Astronomers Discover The Farthest Object In The Solar System

Dwarf planet “Farout” could take more than 1,000 years to circle the sun once.

Astronomers have discovered the farthest object in the solar system known to humanity so far. The presumably spherical object was provisionally christened “2018 VG18 ” and is nicknamed “Farout”, which literally means “far away”. The Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union IAU announced the discovery on Monday.

The object is estimated to have a diameter of 500 kilometers, which would correspond to about one-tenth of Mercury, the smallest planet in the solar system. “Farout” would be a dwarf planet like Pluto, which has a diameter of about 2,400 kilometers. He also gives off a pink hue, which is usually associated with ice. Because of its long distance, “Farout” could take more than 1,000 years to orbit the sun once.

The distance between the sun and the earth is called the astronomical unit (AU), which is about 150 million kilometers. “Farout” is about 120 AU, the dwarf planet Eris 96 AU and Pluto 34 AU away. The previously unknown object was discovered by three astronomers from Washington, Hawaii and Arizona. The first recordings had been delivered by a telescope in Hawaii, at an observatory in Chile “Farout” was then re-sighted.

“We are finally exploring the edges of our solar system far beyond Pluto,” said Chad Trujillo, one of the three explorers, according to the Carnegie Institution for Science. One reason for this is the new wide-angle digital cameras on some of the world’s largest telescopes. The telescope, which made the first shots of “Farout”, is operated by Japan with a consortium of universities in the US and several research institutes.</s>Astronomers have discovered the most distant body in the solar system, a pink micro-planet which has been nicknamed "Farout".

The object was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Centre, and has been given the provisional official designation 2018 VG18.

Farout is - as its name suggests - is extremely distant from the Sun.

It is about 120 astronomical units (AU) away - one AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

The discovery was made by the Carnegie Institute of Science's (CIS) Scott Sheppard, alongside the University of Hawaii's David Tholen, and Northern Arizona University's Chad Trujillo.

It was discovered as part of the team's continuing search for extremely distant Solar System objects, including the suspected Planet X, sometimes called Planet 9 following Pluto's downgrading.

Scott Seppard said the micro-planet was "much more distant and slower moving than any other observed Solar System object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit".

He added: "It was found in a similar location on the sky to the other known extreme Solar System objects, suggesting it might have the same type of orbit that most of them do.

"The orbital similarities shown by many of the known small, distant Solar System bodies was the catalyst for our original assertion that there is a distant, massive planet at several hundred AU shepherding these smaller objects."

Its colour is believed to be caused by a high amount of ice in the dwarf planet's body.

"All that we currently know about 2018 VG18 is its extreme distance from the Sun, its approximate diameter, and its colour," Mr Tholen said.

"Because 2018 VG18 is so distant, it orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the Sun."

First spotted with a telescope in Hawaii, Mr Sheppard's team confirmed the dwarf planet's existence from Chile.

Mr Sheppard told Associated Press: "I actually uttered 'farout' when I first found this object, because I immediately noticed from its slow movement that it must be far out there.

"It is the slowest moving object I have ever seen and is really out there."
Astronomers announce the discovery of trans-Neptunian object 2018 VG18, the most distant object in the Solar System ever observed at a distance of ~120 AU.