A team of astronomers has confirmed the orbit of a distant planetoid in the farthest part of our solar system, nicknamed “Farfarout”.
The smaller planet, officially designated AG37 2018, is almost four times farther from the sun than Pluto. It is the farthest planetoid ever detected in our solar system, researchers announced this week.
Farfarout was first detected in 2018, surpassing the previous record holder, “Farout”. The team, responsible for both findings, has an ongoing survey to map the information outdoor solar system.
After being discovered at the 8-meter Subary Telescope over Maunakea in Hawaii, astronomers used the Gemini North and Mageallan telescopes to track their orbit in recent years. In a few more years, when its orbit has been followed, Farfarout will receive an official name.
“The Farfarout discovery shows our growing ability to map the outer solar system and observe more and more toward the margins of our solar system,” said Scott S. Sheppard, a member of the discovery team. “Only with the advances of recent years have large digital cameras in very large telescopes been able to discover very distant objects as efficiently as Farfarout.”
Farfarout’s average distance from the sun is 132 astronomical units, meaning it is 132 times farther from the sun than Earth. In comparison, Pluto is only 39 birds from the sun.
NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva
Farfarout’s journey around the sun takes about 1,000 years. The planetoid, very weak, is estimated to be about 250 miles in diameter, at the small end dwarf planets with Pluto.
“A single Farfarout orbit around the Sun takes a millennium,” said David Tholen, a member of the discovery team. “Because of this long orbital, it moves very slowly across the sky, which requires several years of observations to accurately determine its trajectory.”
Interactions with Neptune are responsible for the large, elongated orbit of the planetoid. Its orbit reaches 175 u at the farthest and about 27 birds, within the orbit of Neptune, in the area closest to the sun.
The effects of Neptune on Farfarout’s orbit also mean that the planetoid probably cannot contribute to scientists’ efforts to find a mysterious unknown planet hidden outside the solar system.
“Farfarout’s orbital dynamics can help us understand how Neptune formed and evolved, as Farfarout probably launched into the outer solar system by getting too close to Neptune in the distant past,” said Chad Trujillo, a member of the discovery team. “Farfarout will likely interact strongly with Neptune again as its orbits continue to intersect.”
Scientists believe they will finally find the hypothetical “New Planet. “
“Farfarout is just the tip of the iceberg of solar system objects from the far solar system,” Sheppard said.