Astronomer Matthew Holman finds large dwarf planet candidate beyond Pluto
The gist
Astrophysicist Matthew Holman found a bright object, 600–1500 km wide, about 4.3 billion miles from the sun.
If confirmed, 2026 ED138 would join the IAU's five recognized dwarf planets.
How it unfolded
- Mar 4, 20262026 ED138 was first observed, but researchers did not identify it as an object of interest until mid-October.
- Oct 13, 2026Matthew Holman found the bright, unusually large object while analyzing data collected in early 2026, estimating its diameter at 600 to 1500 km.
- Oct 30, 2026The discovery was announced at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society's division for planetary sciences in Spokane, Washington.
Key terms
- dwarf planet
- A small round body orbiting the Sun that is massive enough to be spherical but not to dominate its orbit.
- IAU
- An international non-governmental organization of professional astronomers that promotes astronomy and sets naming standards.
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory
- An astronomical observatory in Chile that repeatedly surveys the southern sky over ten years.
Source: Wikipedia