As part of a project to search for a hypothetical ninth planet, astronomers stumbled upon an object, dwarf planet 2018 VG18, that turned out to be the most distant from Earth known in the solar system.It is located at a distance of about 120 astronomical units from the Sun, and one year on it lasts at least 1000 Earth years.
The object, which received the official designation 2018 VG18 and the unofficial Farout, is much further and moves much slower than anything ever seen in the solar system, so it will take several years to refine its orbit.
-Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institute (USA), under whose leadership the discovery was made
For the first time, the 2018 VG18 object was seen on images taken by the Japanese 8-meter Subaru telescope on November 10, 2018. Then, scientists conducted repeated observations on the 6.5-meter Magellan telescope to confirm its extreme distance from the Sun, and also to establish the physical properties of the object, such as brightness and color.
As a result, the data collected during the week of continuous monitoring confirmed that the distance to 2018 VG18 is about 120 astronomical units. In addition, the brightness of the object made it possible to calculate its diameter, which turned out to be approximately 500 kilometers, that is, it probably has a spherical shape and is a dwarf planet. Scientists also found that the 2018 VG18 has a pinkish tint, usually associated with ice-covered bodies.
All that we currently know about the 2018 VG18 is its distance from us, the approximate diameter and color. Since it is incredibly far away and revolves around the Sun very slowly, most likely it takes more than 1000 Earth years to complete one orbit.
-David Tolen, co-author of the discovery from the University of Hawaii (USA)
The most distant dwarf planet of our solar system
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