Astronomers have discovered a new world circling the outer edges of our solar system.
Researchers using the Subaru Telescope, located in Hawaii, spotted a small, distant object far beyond Pluto and have named it 2023 KQ14.
2023 KQ14 is a rare type of object called a ‘sednoid,’ a small, icy body in the outer solar system, similar to the icy rocks floating in the Kuiper Belt or dwarf planets like Pluto.
So far, there are only four known objects like it in our solar system. 2023 KQ14 is about 71 times farther from the sun than Earth is.
This object follows a unique, stretched-out orbit that has stayed stable for about 4.5 billion years.
Scientists found that 2023 KQ14’s orbit was similar to the other sednoids in the solar system for billions of years, but that has mysteriously changed over time, suggesting the outer solar system is a more complex space than we thought.
This discovery also makes the possible existence of ‘Planet Nine’ less likely, as 2023 KQ14’s orbit doesn’t quite fit with where scientists believe that world would be.
Instead, it hints that something unusual, like a planet being ejected long ago, shaped these orbits.
Researchers using the Subaru Telescope, located in Hawaii, spotted a small, distant object far beyond Pluto and have named it 2023 KQ14
