New dwarf planet found in our solar system
This is the path the new dwarf planet candidate took through space earlier this year
- Published
In big news for small planets, astronomers have discovered a brand new dwarf planet just beyond Pluto, and they think there could be lots more.
It's called 2026 ED138, and while it's not yet full confirmed, it could end up being one of the largest dwarf planets ever discovered in that part of our Solar System.
As technical advances have allowed us to see further and deeper into space, experts are discovering more bodies in the outer reaches of our solar system.
But what are dwarf planets, and what does the discovery mean?
Read on to find out.
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What are dwarf planets?
These are illustrations of the five dwarf planets scientists currently agree on
There's a certain amount of criteria to meet before something can officially described as a 'planet'.
If something in space is big, bright, and does most of the things a planet does, but doesn't quite tick all the boxes, then it's called a dwarf planet.
Often it's about size - if something is too small to officially be a planet, it's described as a dwarf planet.
There are, so far, five confirmed dwarf planets in our Solar System: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
The Pluto palaver
This image from 2015 is one of the most detailed pictures of Pluto ever taken
There's one 'planet' in our solar system that's had a bit of back and forth over its status - Pluto.
Since its discovery, it was always described as the smallest planet in our Solar System, and the furthest one from the Sun.
But in 2006 it got demoted to dwarf planet status, due to it being a lot smaller than other planets in our solar system.
Now, the debate has opened again, with NASA boss Jared Isaacman saying they're going to take a look at whether or not it can be given planet status once more.
Learn more about our planetary neighbours with BBC Bitesize
New dwarf on the block
Here you can see the route 2026 ED138 takes in relation to the other dwarf planets in our solar system
2026 ED138 was spotted 4.3 billion miles away by the Vera C. Rubin observatory in Chile.
The observatory holds the world's largest camera, and astronomers studied some of its snaps over a number of months, and spotted the new potential dwarf planet.
The discovery was announced at an American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington.
It still needs to be confirmed by other scientists, but if it is, it will become the sixth confirmed dwarf planet in our solar system.
Why is this important?
A spokesperson from Stanford University told BBC Newsround: "This is a brand new discovery and could be among the largest and brightest dwarf planets ever found in this part of our Solar System.
"Identifying and learning about dwarf planets provides important clues to how our Solar System was formed more than four billion years ago."