大象传媒

New dwarf planet called 'The Goblin' found at edge of our solar system

An illustration shows the orbit of the new object 2015 TG387, nicknamed the Goblin, as compared to the rest of the solar system.
Image caption,

An illustration shows the orbit of the new object 2015 TG387, nicknamed the Goblin, as compared to the rest of the solar system

Scientists have discovered a dwarf planet in the outermost reaches of the solar system.

The orbit of the dwarf planet - officially called 2015 TG387 - seems to be influenced by the gravity of a much bigger object.

Astronomers using a eight metre telescope in Hawaii, USA, found the new dwarf planet beyond Neptune.

It's taken three years carefully studying the data to confirm that the object, known as The Goblin, is a dwarf world probably about 300 kilometres wide.

What is a dwarf planet?

They are much smaller than the main planets - they're basically planets that never grew to full size.

Our solar system contains five official dwarf planets including Pluto - but there may be thousands more.

Image caption,

An artist's illustration of the mystery giant planet that scientists believe could be shaping the orbits of smaller objects like 2015 TG387

What researchers are excited about, is that the behaviour of its orbit suggests that there may be another giant planet nearby.

They've called this Planet X or Planet Nine and it's something that astronomers have thought might exist for some time,

Measurements seem to show that The Goblin completes a full orbit around the sun once every 40,000 years.

It's thought that the dwarf planet could be one of many unknown worlds in this remote and mysterious region of space.