Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile have identified a distant icy object, provisionally named 2026 ED138, orbiting about 46 astronomical units from the Sun. Based on its brightness and estimated reflectivity, researchers believe it measures between 600 and 1,500 km across, potentially making it the largest trans-Neptunian object found in two decades. The object was detected by Harvard astrophysicist Matthew Holman using a search code, then confirmed across 30 images spanning 20 nights, with older data tracing its path back to 2016.
techspot.com
· 2026-11-01
Astronomers at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile announced detection of an object, provisionally named 2026 ED138, orbiting about 4.3 billion miles from the Sun, roughly 46 times Earth's distance. Early estimates put its diameter between 370 and 930 miles, and its orbit is tilted 25 degrees from the plane most planets follow. If confirmed, it would be the first new dwarf planet classified since the International Astronomical Union set the category's rules in 2006.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-28
Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have identified a trans-Neptunian object called 2026 ED138, located about 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth and estimated at 600 to 1,500 kilometers wide. Researchers Matthew Holman and Kevin Napier found it using a new search code, then traced additional sightings back to 2016 to map its orbit, which is tilted roughly 25 degrees from the solar system's plane.
science.slashdot.org
· 2026-10-28
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