RSS feed source: National Science Foundation
NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has found a large object that scientists have identified as a possible dwarf planet. A preliminary data analysis shows that the object is orbiting in the outer reaches of the solar system beyond Pluto and may be one of the largest dwarf planet candidates ever found. If confirmed, the object would join the five other known dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
Rubin Observatory is jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The discovery was enabled by Rubin’s unparalleled speed and its enormous camera, the largest ever created, allowing it to precisely capture every visible change in the southern hemisphere sky. The International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center has given the newly discovered object the provisional designation ED138.
ED138 was found in a region of sky close to the plane of the Milky Way, a region visually filled with millions of stars, which is likely why it was not discovered until now. Rubin Observatory’s regular monitoring and powerful data algorithms allowed scientists to spot ED138 moving within the crowded field.
“Rubin Observatory’s superpower is the ability to clearly capture movement and change among a vast number of objects and phenomena that humans have never seen before,” says Edward Ajhar, NSF Program Director for Rubin Observatory. “That power greatly extends
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