New tiny world beyond Neptune discovered — boosting ‘Planet Nine' theory
For years, scientists have theorized about a ninth planet beyond Neptune because of the orbital patterns of smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt, a region of icy objects beyond Neptune.
Advertisement
Pluto is considered a Kuiper Belt Object, or KBO. The theoretical planet would be the ninth planet because in 2006 Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet after the object Eris was discovered.
On Tuesday, scientists with the Subaru Telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan revealed a fourth member of the sednoids, a group of small bodies with 'peculiar orbits.' The findings were published this week in Nature Astronomy.
Nicknamed 'Ammonite,' researchers say it could provide more evidence for the hypothetical 'Planet Nine' beyond Neptune.
3 For years, scientists have theorized about a ninth planet beyond Neptune.
NAOJ/ASIAA
Advertisement
Ammonite has likely been around since the solar system's infancy and has maintained a stable orbit for about 4.5 billion years, according to the research group. This newly discovered object follows a different orbit than the other sednoids.
'The numerical simulations conducted in this study suggest that if Planet Nine exists, its orbit should lie even farther out than previously predicted,' according to a news release from the observatory.
'Furthermore, the existence of Planet Nine would also need to explain why Ammonite's orbit does not cluster with those of the other sednoids.'
3 Scientists with the Subaru Telescope operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan revealed a fourth member of the sednoids.
NAOJ/ASIAA
Advertisement
3 Ammonite has likely been around since the solar system's infancy.
NAOJ
According to Dr. Fumi Yoshida, of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health and the Chiba Institute of Technology, who led the survey project, Ammonite is too far away from Neptune for major gravitational influence.
'The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when Ammonite formed,' Yoshida said.
Advertisement
'Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System.'
According to NASA, 'Planet X (Planet Nine) has not yet been discovered, and there is debate in the scientific community about whether it exists.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
The newest member of the Solar System, Ammonite? It was discovered by a wide-lens, 870MP camera that weighs more than three tons
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Typically, telescopes are synonymous with bringing far-off objects close, but the newest member of the solar system was discovered using wide-field imaging. The Subaru Telescope has spotted a distant orbiting Sedonite called 2023 KQ14, nicknamed Ammonite by researchers. Ammonite isn't a planet, but a member of distant orbiting objects called Sednoids, which are objects beyond Neptune's orbit with a non-circular orbit around the sun. Ammonite is the fourth Sednoid discovered, but has an orbit that's significantly different than the earlier three Sednoids. First spotted in 2023, Ammonite was officially shared with the public when researchers published the data on July 14, 2025. Ammonite is 71 times farther from the sun than the Earth – and that's at its closest point in the celestial object's orbit. So how did researchers spot the Sednoid? The newest member of the Solar System was first spotted by researchers using the Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (ASIAA). Located in Hawaii at the top of a volcano, the Subaru Telescope is 8.2 meters / 26.9 feet and weighs more than three tons. The telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam first spotted the new sednoid using its 870MP sensor and 1.5-degree field of view. That wide field-of-view scans large sections of the sky, looking for faint, slow-moving objects, and in the summer of 2023, picked up on the movement of Ammonite. Ammonite's existence was then confirmed by observations with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in 2024. While researchers using the Subaru Telescope were the first to spot the Sednoid by noting its movement, researchers have now found evidence of Ammonite by digging through 19 years of archival images taken from multiple observatories, including the Dark Energy Camera and data from Kitt Peak National Observatory. Gathering data spanning nearly two decades has allowed scientists to create a more accurate picture of Ammonite's orbit, and researchers now believe that Ammonite's orbit has been stable for 4.5 billion years. While the discovery of Ammonite highlights the advancement of telescope and camera technology, it also disrupts Planet Nine, the theory that a ninth planet exists beyond the orbit of Pluto, the dwarf planet that was reclassified and lost its label as the ninth planet in 2006. Data on Ammonite lowers the probability of a ninth planet, researchers believe, although a ninth planet could still exist farther out than first thought. Above: video animation shows the orbit of a newly discovered sednoid, 2023 KQ₁₄ 'The fact that 2023 KQ14's current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis,' said Dr. Yukon Huang of NAOJ. 'It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.' The Subaru Telescope made the discovery as part of a project nicknamed FOSSIL, or the Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy. The survey, led by scientists from Japan and Taiwan, uses the telescope's wide-field imaging to scan the sky, looking for objects in the outer solar system. The researchers are looking specifically at the icy outer Solar System for evidence of how the Solar System was formed. FOSSIL Lead Dr. Fumi Yoshida said the Subaru Telescope is one of the few equipped to make distant discoveries like the existence of Ammonite. "Ammonite was found in a region far away where Neptune's gravity has little influence,' Yoshida said. 'The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when Ammonite formed." "Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System," Yoshida continued. "At present, the Subaru Telescope is among the few telescopes on Earth capable of making such discoveries. I would be happy if the FOSSIL team could make many more discoveries like this one and help draw a complete picture of the history of the Solar System." You may also like The largest camera in the world is also a camera designed to scan the skies. Or, to photograph the stars with a camera that you can hold in your hands, browse the best cameras for astrophotography or the best tripods. Solve the daily Crossword
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Strange New Object Found In Solar System ‘Dancing' With Neptune
Astronomers surveying the outer solar system have revealed that a rare object far beyond Neptune is moving in sync with the eighth planet in an unexpected way. Called 2020 VN40 and first discovered in 2020, it takes 1,655 Earth-years to orbit the sun. The news comes just weeks after 2023 KQ14 — nicknamed 'Ammonite' — was found beyond Neptune and Pluto. Together, these newly found objects change the way astronomers think distant objects move and how the solar system evolved. The orbital path of 2020 VN40 — in yellow — is tilted up and to the left from the orbits of most of ... More the objects in the solar system. PSI/Kathryn Volk 2020 VN40 is currently 140 times farther from the sun than Earth. For context, Neptune is 29 times farther from the sun than Earth. However, the object's orbit is highly elliptical, getting just 40 times farther from the sun than Earth. Most planets — including Earth — orbit the sun in nearly the same flat plane. Some distant objects, such as 2020 VN40, have orbits that are highly inclined relative to this plane. The object appears to be in a 10:1 resonance with Neptune, meaning that it orbits the sun once for every ten orbits Neptune completes. It's the first object ever found to do that. The size of 2020 VN40 is unknown because it's too far away to be directly measured. However, based on its brightness, it may have a diameter of around 56 miles (90 kilometers). Published this month in the American Astronomical Society's The Planetary Science Journal , the discovery supports the theory that many distant objects get captured by Neptune's gravity as they drift through the outer solar system. 'This is a big step in understanding the outer solar system,' said Rosemary Pike, lead researcher from the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian in Cambridge, Massachusetts. 'It shows that even very distant regions influenced by Neptune can contain objects, and it gives us new clues about how the solar system evolved.' It could also shed light on the motion of objects in the outer solar system. 'This new motion is like finding a hidden rhythm in a song we thought we knew,' said Ruth Murray-Clay, co-author of the study, from the University of California in Santa Cruz. 'It could change how we think about the way distant objects move.' 2020 VN40 took six years to be discovered and for its orbit to be mapped. It was discovered by astronomers working on the Large Inclination Distant Objects survey, a search for unusual objects in the outer solar system with orbits that extend far above and below the plane of the solar system. It's a region of the solar system that few astronomers have studied. The researchers used the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and Gemini North in Hawaii and Magellan Baade and Gemini South in Chile. The LiDO survey has now found over 140 distant objects. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which published its first stunning images in June, is expected to find many more objects in the outer solar system. 'With the imminent start of Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time, we expect many more such discoveries to open a new window into the solar system's past,' said Kathryn Volk of the Planetary Science Institute. Rubin is also expected to find more interstellar objects — such as ancient comet 3I/ATLAS. Background Another newly discovered object that could reshape astronomers' understanding of the solar system's past is 'Ammonite,' or 2023 KQ14, an object discovered in the solar system beyond Neptune and Pluto. Classed as a sednoid — an object similar to Sedna, a dwarf planet candidate in the outer solar system found in 2003 — Ammonite orbits beyond Neptune and has a highly eccentric orbital path. It's thought to be between 137 and 236 miles (220 and 380 kilometers) in diameter and between 70 and 432 times farther from the sun than Earth. Further Reading Forbes Meet 'Ammonite' — A New World Just Found In The Solar System By Jamie Carter Forbes Complete Guide To 'Ammonite,' The Solar System's Latest Member By Jamie Carter Forbes See The First Jaw-Dropping Space Photos From Humanity's Biggest-Ever Camera By Jamie Carter Forbes World's Biggest Camera May Find 50 Interstellar Objects, Scientists Say By Jamie Carter Forbes Where Newly Found 'Ammonite' Is In Solar System — And Why It Matters By Jamie Carter
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Where Newly Found ‘Ammonite' Is In Solar System — And Why It Matters
getty Where is 'Ammonite,' the new world discovered in the solar system? Is Ammonite a planet? No. It's a "sednoid," an object about 137-236 miles (220-380 kilometers) in diameter that has a highly eccentric orbit, similar to that of the dwarf planet Sedna, one of the most distant objects in the solar system science knows of. Nicknamed Ammonite — a kind of fossil — the sednoid discovery 2023 KQ14 is forcing astronomers to rethink theories about how the solar system formed. Here's everything you need to know about where Ammonite is and how it fits into the pantheon of the solar system. Forbes Meet 'Ammonite' — A New World Just Found In The Solar System How Ammonite Was Discovered It may be an exciting find, but Ammonite is not a bright, easy-to-find object. Unlike distant exoplanets, most of which are seen when they transit their star, a relatively small object in the outer solar system that reflects very little sunlight is dim. So, so dim. It's comparable to a magnitude 24 object, which is impossible to see with all but the most powerful professional telescopes' wide-field imaging cameras. Which is precisely what happened earlier this month. Ammonite was detected — as a faint dot in long-exposure images — from near the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island, first by Japanese astronomers using the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam in Hawaii, then with the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope's MegaCam to map its orbit. Where Is Ammonite? Ammonite is a trans-Neptunian object, a designation derived from its discovery beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto in a region of the outer solar system that astronomers know relatively little about. Ammonite was first detected about 71 astronomical units (an AU is the average distance between Earth and the sun — 93 million miles/150 million kilometers) from the sun, from where it may take as long as 10,000 years to complete one orbit of the sun. This region lies beyond the Kuiper Belt and may be located within the area considered to transition into the inner Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud is a sphere around the solar system that's thought to be home to billions of objects, including comets. Forbes Complete Guide To 'Ammonite,' The Solar System's Latest Member Meet The Sednoids As well as being a TNO, Ammonite is a sednoid — and only the fourth ever discovered. The archetype is Sedna, a dwarf planet with a diameter of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), whose elliptical orbit takes it within 76 au, but as far as 937 au. For context, Neptune orbits 30 au from the sun and Pluto between 30 and 50 au. There are two other sednoids. 2012 VP113, found in 2012 and nicknamed "Biden" for its "VP" abbreviation, is 280 miles (450 kilometers) in diameter. 541132 Leleākūhonua, discovered in 2015, is 140 miles (220 kilometers) in diameter and orbits between 65 and a whopping 2,114 au. All of the sednoids — including Ammonite — were found close to their perihelion — their closest point to the sun on their wildly eccentric elliptical orbits. It follows that there are likely others out there that are too distant and too dim for even the largest telescopes to find. Forbes The Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Thursday night — Here's When To See It At Its Best Why Sednoids Are Important Ammonite's orbit is helping astronomers understand what the solar system looked like billions of years ago — and what else might be lurking out there. The presence of a population of objects with "detached" orbits that take them far away from the sun — as opposed to the relative order found in the inner solar system — hints at a chaotic past or present shaped by forces other than the eight major planets. The theory that the sednoids are being gravitationally impacted by an unseen massive object is the basis of the Planet Nine thesis. The thinking is that the sednoids must have such orbits for a reason. If Planet Nine does exist, it's thought to be over 400 au from the sun, and about five to 10 times Earth's mass. In May, scientists in Taiwan, searching for a ninth planet in the solar system, found hints in archival images. However, not only has Planet Nine not been found, but Ammonite's discovery may suggest that it isn't there. Ammonite's orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids' weird orbits, which weakens the Planet Nine thesis — and hints at different explanations for the sednoids: MORE FOR YOU There is a ninth planet, but it's incredibly remote. A ninth planet did exist, but was ejected from the solar system long ago. A star passed close to the solar system, exerting a gravitational effect on the sednoids. Either way, the discovery of Ammonite reminds us that the solar system doesn't end with Pluto, but morphs into a vast disc populated by the leftovers of the dawn of the solar system — a region we all look right through every time we look up at the night sky. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
