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In their quest for unknown dwarf planets and planet X as well as distant objects in the solar system, a team of scientists discovered a new, extremely distant object far beyond Pluto with an orbit.
The newly found object, called 2015 TG387, is probably a dwarf planet, since it has a diameter of nearly 300 km.
The object was discovered at about 80 astronomical units (AU) of the Sun – a measurement defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Pluto has about 34 AU, 2015 TG387 is about two and a half times farther from the Sun than Pluto.
"These distant objects are like breadcrumbs 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 believe is shaping their orbit – a discovery that would redefine our knowledge the evolution of the solar system, "said Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, USA.
According to the team, who reported his findings in the journal Astronomical Journal, 2015 TG387 was first observed in October 2015 in Hawaii. Follow-up observations were obtained in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 to determine the 2015 TG387 orbit.
The team performed computer simulations to understand the impact of various hypothetical orbits on Planet X in the 2015 TG387 orbit.
The simulations included a super-terrestrial mass planet with several hundred AU in an elongated orbit.
Most simulations showed that not only was TG387's 2015 orbit stable for the solar system era, but it was actually guided by the gravity of Planet X, which maintains the TG387 from 2015 smaller away from the planet.
"What makes this result really interesting is that Planet X seems to affect 2015 TG387 in the same way as all the other extremely distant objects in the solar system," said Chad Trujillo of Northern Arizona University.
"These simulations do not prove that there is another gigantic planet in our solar system, but they are further proof that something big could be out there," he added.
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