dwarf planet
Dwarf Planet Quaoar has a Ring
Quaoar is one of about 3,000 dwarf planets in our Solar System's Kuiper Belt. Astronomers discovered it in 2002. It's…
Astronomers See the Wreckage Where Planets Crashed Into Each Other in a Distant Star System
Our Solar System was born in chaos. Collisions shaped and built the Earth and the other planets, and even delivered…
Asteroid Hygiea is Round Enough That it Could Qualify as a Dwarf Planet, the Smallest in the Solar System
Using the Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers observed Hygeia and determined it could be the smallest dwarf…
Just discovered! “Farout”, the Farthest Object Ever Seen in the Solar System
Astronomers have discovered a distant body that's more than 100 times farther from the Sun than Earth is. Its provisional…
New Dwarf Planet Found in the Outskirts of the Solar System, Giving Astronomers More Ammunition to Search for Evidence of Planet 9
Astronomers have found a new dwarf planet way out beyond Pluto that never gets closer than 65 AUs to the…
Astronomy Cast Ep. 456: Pluto Revisited
This week, we return to our starting point, where Astronomy Cast began: Pluto. 11 years on, we have a whole…
Dawn Gets Right in Between the Sun and Ceres and Takes this Video
Using data provided by the Dawn probe, which now orbits between Ceres and the Sun (at opposition), NASA has created…
The Orbit of Pluto. How Long is a Year on Pluto?
Given its extreme distance from the Sun, Pluto has a very long orbital period. As such, a single year on…
What is the Color of Pluto?
Thanks to the New Horizons mission, which conducted the first detailed study of Pluto in 2014, we know that Pluto's…
New Dwarf Planet Discovered Beyond Neptune
A dwarf planet has been discovered beyond Neptune. It's about 700 km in size, and its orbit takes it 120…