This mysterious planet of our solar system discovered in 2020 moves in synchronization with Neptune but turns 10x less quickly than it

A ghost planet with Neptune lagging behind: 2020 VN40, the object that dances at a setback.

It is a planet that takes more than 1,600 years to take a full tour around the sun. For example, It is so distant that it only receives a thousandth of the influence that the land is capturing. Similarly, Welcome to 2020 VN40! In addition to its distance. In addition, it has a particularity: it is locked in a strange celestial choreography with Neptune, at an unprecedented rate of 10 by 1.

Read also:

2020 VN40. Additionally, In addition, the planet in the shadow of Neptune – This mysterious planet our solar

In the big ball of the solar system, some bodies do not run at random. Consequently, They enter into orbital resonancea gravitational relationship where their periods of revolution follow simple relationships. Meanwhile, We know well the case of Pluto and Neptune, this mysterious planet our solar engaged in a report of 3 orbits for Pluto for 2 for Neptune. In addition, 2020 VN40, it pushes logic much further: ten orbits for Neptune against one for our mysterious planet!

It takes a little patience to follow it: Neptune loops a tour in 165 years. Meanwhile, This means that 2020 VN40 takes about 1,650 years to return to its starting point! However, despite these divergent speeds, the two never meet. Consequently, Their synchronization acts as an invisible barrier. For example, a gravitational security system where everyone remains in their place, at a good distance.

France will completely rebathe the cards of the space race with a new nuclear propulsion system to explore the moon

An object lost on the borders of the solar system – This mysterious planet our solar

Discovered by the Lido program in 2020 (as its name suggests). Similarly, from the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, 2020 VN40 walks well beyond Neptune orbit. Therefore, Its half-large axis is estimated at around 140 astronomical units, or nearly 21 billion kilometers. Its orbit is very eccentric, with a pronounced flattening, and an inclination of 33 degrees. This means that it does not run in the same plane as most planets. He travels far above and below this flat “highway” where traditional bodies circulate.

It is precisely this marked this mysterious planet our solar inclination that makes it so interesting. He enters a category of rare objects, whose orbit oscillates strongly around the main plan. As if it had been catapulted there by an old mechanism, then trapped in a cosmic loop.

Simulations that reveal an unexpected mechanism

Thanks to extensive digital simulations. researchers understood that 2020 VN40 follows a so -called “Eyehole” trajectory. This poetic term designates an exceptional type of orbit. almost never encountered, where inclination and eccentricity fall into a very narrow fork. A bit as if this object followed an invisible rail, with surprising stability.

Another revelation: this configuration can last tens or even hundreds of millions of years. Then the object ends up deriving, slowly, smoothly. It could therefore be that a multitude of objects of the same kind revolve in the vicinity. invisible, too small or too distant to be detected today.

A fossil trace of Neptune migration?

this mysterious planet our solar

What are these observations for, beyond curiosity? To reconstruct the eventful history of the solar system. Because this particular resonance is much more than a mathematical alignment. It would be the frozen memory of a restless past, when Neptune, still young, has migrated outwards. In its wake. the giant planet would have trapped stray objects in stable orbits, “erasure” them in passing like a celestial snow-hunting blade.

We already knew that resonances like 3: 2 or 2: 1 marked this story. The fact that the report 10: 1 exists at such a distance. beyond 140 astronomical units, suggests that the field of influence of Neptune was much wider than what we imagined.

A window on a ghost population

2020 VN40 alone is a pin head in immensity. However, his only detection is an alert. If this object exists, then hundreds, even thousands of others can share its orbit. Objects of this mysterious planet our solar barely a few kilometers, weakly lit, scattered in areas that are not very supervised by the sky.

The future observations of the Vera C. Rubin telescope, with its ten -year investigation into the southern sky, promise to reveal this ghost population. Thanks to its rapid pace. increased sensitivity, the instrument should track down these stealthy travelers before they disappear in the inaccessible areas of the celestial vault.

Note the name of this French city! It is called to become the world capital of 3D printing in the nuclear field

A more complex solar system than we thought

The 2020 VN40 study enriches our understanding of the orbital dynamics. invisible gravitational forces which sculpt our cosmic neighborhood. This is more proof that the solar system has not frozen after its training. He still lives, slowly, in secret rhythms that only the patience of astronomers manages to reveal.

A giant planet. an icy object, some well -placed gravitational pulses: it takes no more to draw a millennial dance, perfectly regulated, in the heart of a space that we thought deserted!

Source :

LiDO: Discovery of a 10:1 Resonator with a Novel Libration State
Rosemary E. Pike, Ruth Murray-Clay, Kathryn Volk, Mike Alexandersen, Mark Comte, Samantha M. Lawler, Ying-Tung Chen (陳英同), Arcelia Hermosillo this mysterious planet our solar Ruiz, Cameron Semenchuck, Cameron Collyer

Posted on July 7, 2025. Published in The American Astronomical Society.
The Planetary Science Journal, Volume 6, Number 7
Citation Rosemary E. Pike et al 2025 Planet. Sci. J. 6 156
DOI 10.3847/PSJ/addd22

Image : Rosemary Pike, CfA