Where Newly Found ‘Ammonite' Is In Solar System — And Why It Matters
Where is 'Ammonite,' the new world discovered in the solar system? Is Ammonite a planet? No. It's a "sednoid," an object about 137-236 miles (220-380 kilometers) in diameter that has a highly eccentric orbit, similar to that of the dwarf planet Sedna, one of the most distant objects in the solar system science knows of.
Nicknamed Ammonite — a kind of fossil — the sednoid discovery 2023 KQ14 is forcing astronomers to rethink theories about how the solar system formed.
Here's everything you need to know about where Ammonite is and how it fits into the pantheon of the solar system.
Forbes
Meet 'Ammonite' — A New World Just Found In The Solar System
How Ammonite Was Discovered
It may be an exciting find, but Ammonite is not a bright, easy-to-find object. Unlike distant exoplanets, most of which are seen when they transit their star, a relatively small object in the outer solar system that reflects very little sunlight is dim. So, so dim. It's comparable to a magnitude 24 object, which is impossible to see with all but the most powerful professional telescopes' wide-field imaging cameras.
Which is precisely what happened earlier this month. Ammonite was detected — as a faint dot in long-exposure images — from near the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island, first by Japanese astronomers using the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam in Hawaii, then with the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope's MegaCam to map its orbit.
Where Is Ammonite?
Ammonite is a trans-Neptunian object, a designation derived from its discovery beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto in a region of the outer solar system that astronomers know relatively little about.
Ammonite was first detected about 71 astronomical units (an AU is the average distance between Earth and the sun — 93 million miles/150 million kilometers) from the sun, from where it may take as long as 10,000 years to complete one orbit of the sun. This region lies beyond the Kuiper Belt and may be located within the area considered to transition into the inner Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud is a sphere around the solar system that's thought to be home to billions of objects, including comets.
Forbes
Complete Guide To 'Ammonite,' The Solar System's Latest Member
Meet The Sednoids
As well as being a TNO, Ammonite is a sednoid — and only the fourth ever discovered. The archetype is Sedna, a dwarf planet with a diameter of 620 miles (1,000 kilometers), whose elliptical orbit takes it within 76 au, but as far as 937 au. For context, Neptune orbits 30 au from the sun and Pluto between 30 and 50 au.
There are two other sednoids. 2012 VP113, found in 2012 and nicknamed "Biden" for its "VP" abbreviation, is 280 miles (450 kilometers)
in diameter. 541132 Leleākūhonua, discovered in 2015, is 140 miles (220 kilometers) in diameter and orbits between 65 and a whopping 2,114 au.
All of the sednoids — including Ammonite — were found close to their perihelion — their closest point to the sun on their wildly eccentric elliptical orbits. It follows that there are likely others out there that are too distant and too dim for even the largest telescopes to find.
Forbes
The Perseid Meteor Shower Begins Thursday night — Here's When To See It At Its Best
Why Sednoids Are Important
Ammonite's orbit is helping astronomers understand what the solar system looked like billions of years ago — and what else might be lurking out there. The presence of a population of objects with "detached" orbits that take them far away from the sun — as opposed to the relative order found in the inner solar system — hints at a chaotic past or present shaped by forces other than the eight major planets.
The theory that the sednoids are being gravitationally impacted by an unseen massive object is the basis of the Planet Nine thesis. The thinking is that the sednoids must have such orbits for a reason. If Planet Nine does exist, it's thought to be over 400 au from the sun, and about five to 10 times Earth's mass. In May, scientists in Taiwan, searching for a ninth planet in the solar system, found hints in archival images.
However, not only has Planet Nine not been found, but Ammonite's discovery may suggest that it isn't there. Ammonite's orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids' weird orbits, which weakens the Planet Nine thesis — and hints at different explanations for the sednoids:
MORE FOR YOU
There is a ninth planet, but it's incredibly remote.
A ninth planet did exist, but was ejected from the solar system long ago.
A star passed close to the solar system, exerting a gravitational effect on the sednoids.
Either way, the discovery of Ammonite reminds us that the solar system doesn't end with Pluto, but morphs into a vast disc populated by the leftovers of the dawn of the solar system — a region we all look right through every time we look up at the night sky.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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