Search results for Trans Neptunian Objects

Space Exploration Sep 14, 2022

Flying to (hypothetical) Planet 9: Why visit it, how could we get there and would it surprise us like Pluto?

In a recent study submitted to Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, an international team of researchers discuss the various mission design options for reaching a hypothetical Planet 9, also known as "Planet X," which state-of-the-art ...

Astronomy Aug 1, 2022

Stellar flybys leave a permanent mark on newly forming planetary systems

What do UX Tauri, RW Aurigae, AS 205, Z CMajoris, and FU Orionis have in common? They're young stellar systems with disks where planets could form. It appears those disks were disturbed by stellar flybys or other close encounters ...

Astronomy Apr 21, 2022

Pluto's orbit is surprisingly unstable

In 1930, astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the fabled "Ninth Planet" (or "Planet X") while working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. The existence of this body had been predicted previously based on perturbations ...

Space Exploration Jan 5, 2022

2029 will be the perfect year to launch a mission to Sedna

Object 90377 Sedna—a distant trans-Neptunian object known best for its highly elliptical, 11,390-year long orbit—is currently on its way toward perihelion (its closest approach to the sun) in 2076. After that, Sedna will ...

Astronomy Sep 28, 2021

What happens to interstellar objects captured by the solar system?

Now that we know that interstellar objects (ISOs) visit our solar system, scientists are keen to understand them better. How could they be captured? If they're captured, what happens to them? How many of them might be in ...

Astronomy Sep 16, 2021

A six-year search of the outer solar system turns up 461 new objects (but no Planet 9)

In the near future, astronomers will benefit from the presence of next-generation telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (RST). At the same time, improved data mining ...

Astronomy Aug 2, 2021

Discovery of very red bodies in the asteroid belt that resemble trans-Neptunian objects

Two asteroids (203 Pompeja and 269 Justitia) have been discovered with a redder spectrum than any other object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The discovery was led by HASEGAWA Sunao, Associate Senior Researcher ...

Space Exploration Jun 28, 2021

Giant comet found in outer solar system by Dark Energy Survey

A giant comet from the outskirts of our solar system has been discovered in six years of data from the Dark Energy Survey. Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is estimated to be about 1000 times more massive than a typical comet, ...

Astronomy Jun 17, 2021

Researchers discover orbital patterns of trans-Neptunian objects

Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs), small objects that orbit the sun beyond Neptune, are fossils from the early days of the solar system which can tell us a lot about its formation and evolution.

Astronomy Feb 17, 2021

Evidence of Planet Nine diminishing as researchers find no evidence of clustering

An international team of researchers has found no evidence of trans-Neptunian object clustering as part of an effort to refute the idea of the existence of Planet Nine. The group has written a paper describing their findings ...

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