Pluto is the most popular dwarf planet we know, but astronomers have discovered a new one. Somewhere in space there is a place where a rock was found and comparisons to Pluto were quick in coming. This discovery assures how big and unknown space is that we never stop learning new things about it. Let’s find out more about the discovery and why it is compared to the dwarf planet Pluto.
Beyond Pluto, the dwarf planet
Pluto is the most popular dwarf planet we know and it is located in the Kuiper belt, way beyond the orbit of Neptune. However, this is not the only TNO (Trans-Neptunian Object) because far away from Pluto, there has been evidence of a possible dwarf planet. This discovery was named 20717 OF201, do you think there will come the day scientists give their discoveries an easier name?
In the Perihelion, the nearest point from the Sun, the 2017 OF201 is 44.9 astronomical units (au), which is the unit used to measure the average distance between the Earth and the Sun (about 150 billion meters). The possible dwarf planet’s astronomical units are very similar to Pluto’s ones. Also, this discovery is up to 1,630 au in the Aphelion, the furthest point from the Sun, reaching the inner Oort cloud. This is not a cloud, this is a kind of shell around our Solar System surrounding the Sun, planets and KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects) like Pluto.
Finding 2017 OF201
This object discovery was thanks to previous data from the time ranging the years 2011 and 2018 by the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) And the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS). These technologies were able to observe the 2017 OF201 orbit with as much precision as possible and let astronomers know its specific features.
2017 OF201 and the Planet Nine theory
The Planet Nine theory says a ninth planet could exist far from Neptune and Pluto and although this hasn’t been evidenced yet, the appearance of dwarf objects’ orbits makes astronomers think this theory is possible.
TNOs orbits, like the 2017 FO201, seem difficult to explain because of how they are aligned, but there is a possible explanation for this and it is the existence of something full of gravity which may have been pushing these objects. This is known as Planet Nine. However, the trajectory of the 2017 FO201 doesn’t match with the definition of Planet Nine, so some scientists think the possibility of the existence of a ninth planet is low.
This possible planet could be 5 or 10 times bigger in mass than Earth and it would be from 400 to 800 astronomical units further from the Sun. Can you imagine how big this planet would be?
What can astronomers take from this discovery?
There are still way too many studies to be done until astronomers can reach a conclusion about the furthest places from the Solar System. However, this dwarf object discovery is an indicator of similar objects in places around the Kuiper belt and the inner Oort cloud.
On the other hand, the 2017 FO201 shows the importance of revising the Planet Nine theory as this discovery has rejected the presence of this new planet.
New planets, galaxies, dwarf objects… astronomers have a key role when it comes to adding new theories to the scientific field, or even rejecting previous theories like the Planet Nine one. It is remarkable how one day we can have some theories and the other new things are discovered in the universe that makes these theories obsolete. We’ll see what astronomers will discover in the near future!