Potential dwarf planet discovery in solar system

Astronomical research has identified a potential new dwarf planet, designated 2026 ED138, located in the Kuiper Belt approximately 46 astronomical units from the Sun. Data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile indicates the icy body has an estimated diameter between 600 and 1,500 kilometers.

Using a 3.2-gigapixel digital camera and specialized tracking software, astronomers identified the object as an unusually bright and large trans-Neptunian object. Astronomer Matthew Holman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics detected the object using a specialized algorithm developed with Kevin Napier. Its orbit is notably inclined at an angle of 25 degrees relative to the plane of the solar system, and it completes one revolution every 281 years.

Researchers, including Mario Jurić of the University of Washington, have traced the object’s movement through archival data dating back to 2016. The object had previously remained undetected because its orbital path passes through a crowded region of the sky near the galactic plane of the Milky Way, where light from millions of stars made it difficult to isolate.

To be officially classified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union, researchers must confirm that 2026 ED138 possesses sufficient mass and gravity to maintain a nearly spherical shape. Due to its estimated size, scientists believe its gravity may have already shaped it into a sphere. If its status is officially confirmed, it would become the sixth recognized dwarf planet in the solar system, joining Ceres, Pluto, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.