The universe is so vast that many discoveries are made every year, such as this immense water reservoir that has surprised scientists. But sometimes, you shouldn’t look far. Indeed, our solar system also reserves some surprises, and although it is currently crossed by an interstellary object researchers have discovered a new world thanks to the Subaru () telescope.
Officially appointed 2023 kq14 and nicknamed “ammonite”, this new celestial body is one of the sednoids, from transneptunian objects to unique orbits located on the periphery of the solar system. And that’s not all, since it was discovered in 2023 as part of the Fossil project, when the researchers used the large field camera of the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam telescope.
Subsequently, new observations were made in 2024 with the help of the Canada-France-Hawaii () telescope. But other factors must be taken into account, because this object had already been observed in 2005, 2014 and 2021. By combining the data recorded during these various observations, scientists were able to identify the unique orbit of this spatial object.
Ammonite measures between 220 and 380 km in diameter and has a very elliptical orbit. When it is as close as possible to the sun, it is at a distance between 50 and 75 astronomical units. Conversely, when it is at its aphelia, that is to say at the point most distant from our star, it is at a distance of around 252 astronomical units.
But that’s not all, because according to the simulations carried out by scientists and published on July 14 in the journal Nature Astronomyson Orbit has been stable for 4.5 billion years. And this shows that the external solar system is very diverse, even if it is still very mysterious. In addition, another factor concerns ammonite orbit and the hypothetical planet new.
Indeed, it is not similar to those of the three other sednoids discovered in the past. According to Dr. Yukun Huang, of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (): “The fact that the current ammonite orbit does not align with that of the three other sednoids decreases the probability of the hypothesis of the new planet. It is possible that a planet existed in the solar system but that it was ejected later, causing the unusual orbits that we observe today. “
This discovery could therefore help astronomers around the world shed light on this probable ninth planet. However, this is a giant step for scientists, as explained by Dr. Fumi Yoshida () explains: “Ammonite was found in a very distant region where the gravity of Neptune has little influence. The presence of objects with elongated orbits and important perihelic distances in this region implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient times when ammonite was formed. Understanding the orbital evolution and the physical properties of these unique and distant objects is crucial to understand the complete history of the solar system“
