Which is 10th planet

Other astronomers, however, are not so quick to hop on this train of thought. Still, Volk is confident in these findings, which are set to be published in The Astronomical Journal. The discovery of more bodies in the Kuiper belt will help to support or debunk these findings.

Either way, our little solar family is going to continue to grow with these long-lost distant relations. Care about supporting clean energy adoption? Find out how much money and planet!

Recommended Articles. August 19, July 29, July 06, Nancy Grace Roman's Legacy. May 20, Ask a Question. What Lurks in the Outer Solar System? Some astronomers view it as a Kuiper Belt object and not a planet.

The Kuiper Belt is a region of frozen objects beyond Neptune. Pluto is called a Kuiper Belt object by many astronomers. Brown himself has argued in the past for Pluto's demotion from planet status, because of its diminutive size and eccentric and inclined orbit. Offering additional justification, Brown said UB appears to be surfaced with methane ice, as is Pluto. That's not the case with other large Kuiper Belt objects, however.

NASA effectively endorsed the idea in an official statement that referred to UB as the 10th planet. Yet in recent years, a bevy of objects roughly half to three-fourths the size of Pluto have been found. Brian Marsden, who runs the Minor Planet Center where data on objects like this are collected, says that if Pluto is a planet, then other round objects nearly as large as Pluto ought to be called planets.

On that logic, UB would perhaps be a planet, but it would have to get in line behind a handful of others that were discovered previously. The very definition of what constitutes a planet is currently being debated by Boss and others in a working group of the International Astronomical Union. Boss said the group has not reached consensus after six months of discussion. Temporarily designated UB, the new planet is the most distant object yet seen in the solar system, 97 times farther from the Sun than the Earth is.

It also is the largest body yet found orbiting in the Kuiper belt, the group of icy bodies including Pluto which orbit beyond Neptune. Pluto was the only object known in the Kuiper belt until , but since then astronomers have spotted hundreds more faint, icy bodies with orbits beyond Neptune.

The survey also yielded the new planet and two other objects only slightly smaller than Pluto, which Brown kept quiet as he analysed the survey data and made new observations to learn more about UB The survey first spotted the new planet in October , but it was not until 8 January that Brown realised the object was so distant that its brightness meant it had to be very big.

Calculations showed it was near the most distant point of its year orbit — in years it will be only 36 times as far from the Sun as the Earth is.