PHOTO: Astronomers Discover New Dwarf Planet

Two astronomers from the Carnegie
Institution for Science (CIS) and a
team of experts have discovered the
existence of a new dwarf planet at
the outer edges of the solar system.
The newly discovered object has been
designated 2012 VP113, and was
discovered in the inner Oort Cloud, a
group of comets and other frozen bodies
located nearly a light-year away from
the Sun. Estimates place the beginning
of the Cloud at 50,000 astronomical
units (AU) away. An AU is the mean
distance between Earth and the Sun, or
157 million kilometers (93 million miles).
One of the most interesting conclusions
the team arrived at in the new study
was that a planet some 10 times larger
than Earth must exist in the Oort Cloud.
This prediction was made based on
distortions discovered in 2012 VP113′s
orbit. The hypothetical world may also be
influencing objects in the inner Oort
Cloud, sending comets and other
celestial bodies towards the inner solar
system.
“This is an extraordinary result that
redefines our understanding of our
Solar System,” explains the Director of
the CIS Department of Terrestrial
Magnetism, Linda Elkins-Tanton.
Previously, the most distant known
dwarf planet in our solar system was
Sedna, located about three times
farther away from the Sun than
Neptune. Its aphelion, or point where it
is farthest from the Sun, reaches an
estimated 937 AU. The new study
determined 2012 VP113 orbits well
beyond Sedna.
Source: softpedia