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…

2 years ago

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…

3 years ago

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…

5 years ago

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…

6 years ago

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…

6 years ago

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…

7 years ago

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…

7 years ago

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…

8 years ago

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…

8 years ago

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…

8 years ago