The farthest known object in our solar system has been identified by astronomers.
It has been appropriately nicknamed “Farfarout” and is classified as an “asteroid.”
This means that it is too small to be considered a planet or a dwarf planet, but it is still a mass orbiting our sun.
There was once a time when astronomers thought Pluto was the farthest object orbiting the sun.
Technological advances now give scientists a much deeper view into space.
Scientifically known as 2018 AG37, Farfarout is located about 20 billion kilometers from the sun.
In comparison, the Earth is only about 150 million miles away.
The dwarf planet Pluto is about 6 billion kilometers away.
However, Farfarout occasionally gets closer to the sun and Earth on its 1,000-year orbit.
Due to the shape of its orbit, there is a point every 1,000 years where Farfarout gets closer to the sun than both Neptune and Pluto.
So it may be the farthest object in our solar system for now, but it won’t always keep that title.
There is a dwarf planet called Goblin that is currently closer to the sun than Farfarout, but has the potential to move much further away on its orbit path.
Research David Tholen of the University of Hawai’i said, “Farfarout’s orbital dynamics can help us understand how Neptune formed and evolved, as Farfarout was likely thrown into the outer solar system by getting too close to Neptune in the distant past.
“Farfarout will likely interact with Neptune again as their orbits continue to intersect.”
Farfarout’s orbital period of 1,000 years meant that the researchers had to study it for years to determine its trajectory.
It was actually discovered in 2018, but the exact distance was only recently determined.
Astronomers think it is about 400 kilometers wide.
It will remain under observation and eventually take on an official name more serious than Farfarout and less data-specific than 2018 AG37.
