Scientists may have identified a new dwarf planet in the outer Solar System. The object, named 2026 ED138, was detected beyond Neptune and could measure between 370 and 930 miles across, although its classification has not yet been confirmed.
The discovery was made with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, home to the largest digital camera ever built. Astronomer Matthew Holman spotted ED138 on October 13 while examining images captured earlier in 2026.
Holman described the find as a surprise, noting that objects of this type are rare and that he initially checked whether an error by him or the analysis software had caused the detection.
ED138 is currently about 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth, placing it beyond Pluto’s average orbital distance. Despite its estimated size, it had gone unnoticed because it appears in a particularly crowded region of the night sky containing millions of stars.
Dwarf planets orbit the Sun and are massive enough for their gravity to make them approximately round, but they have not cleared other objects from their orbital paths. The Solar System currently has five officially recognized dwarf planets: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake.
Researchers believe ED138 could meet the criteria, but additional observations are needed to determine whether it is large and round enough to receive official dwarf-planet status. The team also suggested that more similarly large objects could still be discovered in the outer Solar System.
Sources: Dexerto.