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Possible new dwarf planet identified orbiting beyond Pluto
- On Tuesday, astronomers at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory announced the discovery of dwarf planet candidate 2026 ED138 at the 59th Annual Division for Planetary Sciences meeting in Spokane, Washington.
- Hidden within the crowded, star-filled Milky Way, the object avoided detection until astronomers at the Center For Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian identified it using Rubin Observatory data.
- Initial measurements indicate 2026 ED138 spans 600 to 1,500 kilometers in diameter and orbits roughly 46 astronomical units from the Sun, placing it farther than Pluto.
- Additional observations are required to determine if ED138 has sufficient mass to be spherical, a key requirement for dwarf planet classification despite its large size.
- Rubin will scan the southern sky for 10 years, providing researchers unprecedented capacity to discover and 'precover' distant solar system objects hidden in regions earlier surveys missed.
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IndexHRAt the outer edge of the solar system, astronomers have discovered a rare celestial body: a possible new dwarf planet. If the discovery is confirmed, "2026 ED138" would only be the sixth known dwarf planet. By Uwe Gradwohl.
·Hamburg, Germany
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The Rubin Observatory team discovers, in northern Chile, an unusually bright celestial body, between 600 and 1,500 kilometers
·Madrid, Spain
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Astronomers have discovered a possible new dwarf planet in our solar system. The celestial body, provisionally designated 2026 ED138 (ED138 for short), is, according to initial analyses, among the largest and brightest objects orbiting the Sun beyond Pluto's orbit. This was announced by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
·Brussels, Belgium
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Total News Sources228
Leaning Left26Leaning Right24Center103Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Center
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources are Center
67% Center
L 17%
C 67%
R 16%
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