Farout is Really Far Out

Astronomers have discovered a Trans-Neptunian object, or dwarf planet, more than 11 billion miles from the sun, making it the farthest discovered object in our solar system. The official name is 2018 VG18, but has been dubbed Farout, which seems much more appropriate. 

The newly discovered object was announced earlier today by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center. Many more years of observations will be required to fully characterize the object and its orbital path, but the IAU has added it to its database under the provisional name 2018 VG18, along with its coordinates and observational notes. Farout, as it’s been nicknamed, was discovered by astronomer Scott S. Sheppard from the Carnegie Institution for Science and his colleagues at the University of Hawaii and Northern Arizona University.

Farout was first observed on November 10, 2018 by astronomers using the Japanese Subaru 8-meter telescope located atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The object was re-observed in early December with the Magellan telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. These multiple observations, in addition to confirming the object, were used to establish its path across the night sky, along with its size, brightness, and color.