Our solar system is home to eight recognized planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. However,the story of planetary classification is not complete without mentioning Pluto. Once considered the ninth planet, Pluto’s status was reclassified in 2006, leading to its designation as a dwarf planet.

The Current Roster of Dwarf planets

Currently, the International Astronomical union recognizes five official dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris, Ceres, Haumea, and Makemake. But the solar system may have more to offer. Astronomers are constantly searching for other celestial bodies that could possibly qualify for dwarf planet status.

A New Contender: 2017 OR201

Now, astronomers may be on the verge of adding another member to the dwarf planet family. A newly discovered object, provisionally named 2017 OR201, has been identified in the outer reaches of our solar system. This discovery has sparked excitement within the astronomical community.

The Discovery Process

The potential dwarf planet was identified through meticulous analysis of a vast dataset collected by a telescope in Chile. This telescope was originally designed to search for evidence of dark energy. By carefully examining observations taken over time, researchers were able to identify a moving object exhibiting a distinct orbital pattern.

According to Sihao Cheng, a researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, We have discovered a very large trans-neptunic object in a very exotic job. It doesn’t differ much from how Pluto was discovered. This project was really an adventure.

Jiaxuan Li, co-author of the research and doctoral student at Princeton university, noted the origin of the data: We used public data that have been there for a long time. It was just hidden there.

Orbital Characteristics

2017 OR201 is located incredibly far from the sun. It is estimated that it would take more than 24,000 years for 2017 OR201 to complete a single orbit around the sun. At its closest approach, it would be approximately 4.2 billion miles (6.8 billion kilometers) from the sun. Its farthest point would be an astounding 151 billion miles (243 billion kilometers) away. For context, Neptune orbits the sun at a distance of about 2.8 billion miles (4.5 billion kilometers).

Size and Classification

Estimates suggest that 2017 OR201 is approximately 692 kilometers in diameter.This size would likely be sufficient for its own gravity to pull it into a rounded,or convex,shape,which is one of the criteria for dwarf planet status. However, like Pluto, 2017 OR201 would not be large enough to have cleared its orbital neighborhood of other objects.

Peer Review Pending

It is indeed vital to note that the findings of Sihao Cheng and his colleagues have not yet been formally published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. This means that the results have not yet been scrutinized by other experts in the field.