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The search for an invisible X planet has led to the discovery of a new extremely distant object, far beyond Pluto. The newly discovered object is probably one of the thousands of distant worlds that hide in Oort's inner cloud. His strange behavior alludes to the existence of a gigantic planet at the edge of the solar system.
The object, named 2015 TG387 or the Goblin, is about 80 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun (the distance between the Earth and the Sun). By comparison, Pluto has about 34 astronomical units. This means that the object is about two and a half times farther from the sun than Pluto.
The goblin is about 300 kilometers wide and has a very long orbit. It never approaches the Sun or the point where an object has its closest approach distance from the Sun, called perihelion. He has the third farthest perihelion. Only the VP113 and Sedna in 2012 have a more distant perimeter than the TG387 in 2015. Their orbital trajectories imply that these worlds are probably influenced by the severity of a gigantic planet. This putative planet is now called Planet X or Planet Nine.
"These so-called Inner Oort Cloud objects, such as 2015 TG387, 2012 VP113 and Sedna, are isolated from most of the known mass of the solar system, which makes them extremely interesting," said Dr. Scott S. Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science. "They can be used as probes to understand what is happening at the edge of our solar system."
In 2014, the object with the farthest orbit at perihelion 2012, the VP113 was also discovered by the same team. Previously, only Sedna existed in the area.
"We believe that there could be thousands of small bodies like the TG387 2015 at the periphery of the solar system, but their distance makes it difficult to find them," said David Tholen of the University of Toronto. Hawaii. "Right now, we would only detect the 2015 TG387 when it gets closer to its closest approach to the Sun. For about 99% of its 40,000-year-old orbit, it would be too weak to be seen. "
This latest discovery is part of the largest and most extensive survey ever conducted on distant objects in the solar system. The 2015 TG387 orbit is similar to the 2012 VP113, Sedna and most other well-known trans-Neptunian objects, providing more evidence of a huge unknown planet on the periphery of the solar system. The possible presence of this planet could explain why the objects furthest from our solar system have similar orbits.
Sheppard says. "These distant objects are like bread crumbs that lead us to Planet X. The more we find, the better we can understand the outer solar system and the possible planet that we think shapes their orbits – a discovery that would redefine our knowledge of the planet." Evolution of the solar system. "
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