New dwarf planet discovered by Rubin?
Astronomers using the Rubin Observatory have discovered a new dwarf planet candidate. It lies just beyond the orbit of Pluto. The post New dwarf planet discovered by Rubin? first appeared on EarthSky .
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has recently discovered what could be the sixth known dwarf planet in our solar system. Named 2026 ED138, this new candidate dwarfs Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea and Ceres, all of which are officially recognized dwarf planets. At an estimated size of between 370 and 930 miles (600 and 1,500 km) across, ED138 is significantly larger than Pluto's diameter of 1,473 miles (2,370 km).
Upon initial discovery, astronomers were astonished by its brightness and size for its distance from Earth. Matthew Holman of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian expressed his excitement, stating that objects like this are extremely rare. The object orbits the Sun at about 46 astronomical units (AU), or the distance from Earth to the Sun.
It resides in the Kuiper Belt, a region of space extending from beyond Neptune to about 50 AU, and is likely a dwarf planet that has achieved a spherical shape due to its size.
Written by urgent.news from EarthSky's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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