10th Planet in our Solar System? The Newly Discovered “Farout” Has A Pinkish Hue (2024)

There’s a new dwarf planet in our solar system, and it’s the most distant one scientists have ever discovered. This tiny world, formally known as 2018 VG18, but nicknamed Farout, is about 18 billion kilometers away, roughly 3.5 times the distance to Pluto from Earth. The pink cosmic body was nicknamed after its discoverer’s exclamation!

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 of 2018 VG18. The discovery was made by Carnegie’s Scott S. Sheppard, the University of Hawaii’s David Tholen, and Northern Arizona University’s Chad Trujillo.

“I said ‘far out!’ when I discovered it, and it’s a very far out object,” said team member, Scott Sheppard, at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC. Its pink shade indicates an ice-rich object, but little else is known.

Discovery Through the Japanese Subaru Telescope

10th Planet in our Solar System? The Newly Discovered “Farout” Has A Pinkish Hue (1)

Discovery images of 2018 VG18 "Farout" from the Subaru Telescope on November 10, 2018. (Source: Scott S. Sheppard/David Tholen)

A team of astronomers discovered "Farout" using the Japanese Subaru telescope in Hawaii. The Subaru telescope is owned and operated by Japan and the valuable telescope access that the team obtained was due to a combination of time allocated to the University of Hawaii, 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).

Solar system objects like these are found by looking at a series of images at the same spot on the sky for any dot that appears to be moving in comparison to the background stars.

So, How Far is “Farout?”

Not much is known about the little cosmic body yet because of its extreme distance. The images showed that it is about 500 kilometers across, big enough for it to be a dwarf planet. It also appears to be a pinkish color, which might indicate that it has an icy surface.

The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris, at about 96 AU (astronomical unit). Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than the most-famous dwarf planet.

10th Planet in our Solar System? The Newly Discovered “Farout” Has A Pinkish Hue (2)

Solar system distances to scale showing the newly discovered 2018 VG18 "Farout," compared to other known solar system objects. (Source: Roberto Molar Candanosa/Scott S. Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science)

"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."

Future Research Ahead

More observations of this tiny world can help us pin down an important detail - the orbit of "Farout." The strange orbits of similar distant objects have led astronomers to hypothesize that they might be pushed around by a huge planet on the outer edges of our solar system. This as-yet unseen object has been dubbed Planet X.

Earth and the other familiar planets all orbit the sun in roughly the same plane. But the smaller Kuiper belt objects are far enough from the gravitational influence of the giant planets that they can orbit the sun at angles to this plane, nudged by their own gravitational interactions and past collisions.

It is possible to predict this angle, known as the inclination, for any object observed. Thus, Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin at the California Institute of Technology used this idea to predict the existence of a ninth planet, thought to be ten times the mass of Earth, orbiting around 700 AU from the sun.

If Farout’s orbit is similarly warped, it might help us narrow down our search for the elusive planet. In fact, the astronomers found the planet while searching the sky for Planet X.

Top Image: Artist concept of 2018 VG18 “Farout.” (Source: Roberto Molar Candanosa/Carnegie Institution for Science)

10th Planet in our Solar System? The Newly Discovered “Farout” Has A Pinkish Hue (2024)

FAQs

Which is the 10th planet in the solar system? ›

Answer: There is no known Planet X or 10th planet in our solar system. Scientists have been looking for about a hundred years. It was believed that such a planet was required to explain the orbital characteristics of the outer planets Uranus and Neptune.

Which planet in our solar system has a pink sky? ›

On Venus, the sky is orange during the day. The cloud cover is so thick that you cannot see the Sun, so the entire sky seems to glow an eerie orange color. On Mars, the sky is pink or butterscotch, depending on weather conditions and time of day. Martian sunsets can even be blue!

Is the 10th planet real? ›

Planet X has not yet been discovered, and there is debate in the scientific community about whether it exists. The prediction in the Jan. 20 issue of the Astronomical Journal is based on mathematical modeling.

What is the colorful planet in the solar system? ›

Jupiter is known for its brilliant cloud bands, swirls, and spots. Its impressive range of colors includes white, beige, yellow, brown, red, and orange.

What is the 10th dwarf planet? ›

The discovery of 2003 UB313 Eris, the 10th planet largest known dwarf planet. Discovery images of the dwarf planet Eris. The three images were taken 1 1/2 hours apart on the night of October 21st, 2003. The Eris can be seen very slowly moving across the sky over the course of 3 hours.

Is there any 10 planets? ›

In order of distance from the sun they are; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto, which until recently was considered to be the farthest planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet. Additional dwarf planets have been discovered farther from the Sun than Pluto.

What planet has pink in it? ›

Named GJ 504b, the planet is made of pink gas. It's similar to Jupiter, a giant gas planet in our own solar system. But GJ 504b is four times more massive. At 460°F, it's the temperature of a hot oven, and it's the planet's intense heat that causes it to glow.

Is there a pink star in the sky? ›

In some galaxies, the pink color can dominate a telescope's entire field-of-view. This isn't some optical illusion or a false-color image; these regions and galaxies truly appear pink. At first glance, it's surprising, since there are no pink stars, and the majority of young starlight is preferentially blue.

Which is the sky pink? ›

Answer and Explanation: The sky appears pink sometimes in the evening because the angle of the Sun is lower to the Earth's atmosphere and light is scattered as it passes through the clouds. Since the Sun is lower, it has to pass through more atmosphere to get to our eyes compared to when it is higher in the sky.

Is the tenth planet missing? ›

Only three of the four episodes are currently held in the BBC archives; the last episode remains missing, although several short clips, including the regeneration sequence, have been discovered intact.

Where did 10th planet start? ›

2003 - The story begins

Master Eddie Bravo founded 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu in a small kick boxing gym, The Bomb Squad, in West Hollywood, California. With little promotion, it was a risk starting his own no-gi jiu jitsu gym, but on the first night 17 student showed up. The rest is history.

What planet are we missing? ›

Researchers suspect Planet Nine is out there because around a dozen objects beyond the orbit of Neptune, move as if a large object is tugging on them. However, finding this missing world has proved to be extremely tricky.

Do rainbow planets exist? ›

The ingredients required to make a rainbow are sunlight and raindrops. Currently, there is no other planet known to have liquid water on its surface or in sufficient quantities in the atmosphere to make rain. The ingredients required to make a rainbow are sunlight and raindrops.

What planet is rainbow? ›

Glories are common on Earth, and spacecraft have seen them on Venus. But, if confirmed, this will be the first time astronomers have seen a glory outside of our solar system. Glories are a natural circular rainbow-like phenomenon that only occur in certain atmospheric conditions.

When did Pluto stop being a planet? ›

Pluto is a dwarf planet located in a distant region of our solar system beyond Neptune known as the Kuiper Belt. Pluto was long considered our ninth planet, but the International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet in 2006.

What is the 11th planet called? ›

The 11 recognized planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Eris. Ceres, Pluto and Eris are considered dwarf planets.

Is there a 9th planet in our solar system? ›

The small number of Extreme Trans-Neptunian Objects clustering suggest a 9th planet, but a this could just be a temporary, random event and there is in fact no clustering. Instead of a planet, it's something like Saturn's rings, a huge belt of ETNOs. This would be unlikely to be stable over a long period.

What is the number 10 planet? ›

Planet 10 is a hypothetical body in the solar system said to be beyond the eighth planet Neptune and the demoted Pluto. It is theorized to be either around the mass and size of Mars or Earth and lies at the edge of the Kuiper Belt. Like Planet Nine, we haven't confirmed the existence of Planet Ten as of now.

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