Meet ‘Ammonite' — A New World Just Found In The Solar System
An object has been discovered orbiting the sun far beyond Pluto, calling into question theories about a possible Planet Nine in the solar system.
The object, for now, designated 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed "Ammonite," was found by astronomers in Japan using its Subaru Telescope in Hawaii. Announced in a paper published today in Nature Astronomy, the object is not a planet but a sednoid. It's only the fourth sednoid ever discovered.
Ammonite 2023 KQ14: What is A Sednoid?
A sednoid is an object beyond the orbit of Neptune that has a highly eccentric orbit, similar to that of the dwarf planet Sedna, one of the most distant objects in the solar system known to astronomers.
Astronomers use the distance between the Earth and the sun — one astronomical unit or au — to measure distance in the solar system. Sedna gets as close to the sun as about 76 au but as far away as 900 au on its elliptical orbit. 2023 KQ14 gets as close as 66 au from the sun and as far away as 252 au.
The orbit of 2023 KQ14 (in red) compared to the orbits of the other three sednoids (in white). 2023 ... More KQ14was discovered near its perihelion at a distance of 71 astronomical units (71 times the average distance between the Sun and Earth). The yellow point indicates its current position.
2023 KQ14 And The 'Planet Nine' Hypothesis
There has been a lot of attention among astronomers on Planet Nine in recent months. In May, scientists in Taiwan looking for a ninth planet in the solar system found hints in archive images. In June, a study by Rice University and the Planetary Science Institute put a number on the chances that a ninth planet exists — 40%.
The reason a ninth planet may exist is an unusual clustering of minor bodies in the Kuiper Belt — the outer solar system. Six objects — Sedna, 2012 VP113, 2004 VN112, 2010 GB174, 2013 RF98 and 2007 TG422 — all have highly elongated yet similarly oriented orbits. They appear to have been "herded" by the gravitational influence of a planet.
At a distance of over 8 billion miles (13 billion kilometres), Sedna is so far away it is reduced to ... More one picture element (pixel) in this image taken in high-resolution mode with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Why 2023 KQ14 Might 'Kill' Planet Nine
The discovery of 2023 KQ14 may dent that theory because it follows an orbit different from the other sednoids. 'The fact that 2023 KQ14's current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis," said Dr. Yukun Huang of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, who conducted simulations of the orbit in a press release. "It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.' If a "Planet Nine" does exist, it likely orbits even farther from the sun than supposed.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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