Astronomers unearth cosmic 'Fossil' in Solar System's edge
Astronomers just spotted a new object way beyond Neptune called Ammonite (officially 2023 KQ14).
Found in 2023 and confirmed in 2024, it belongs to a rare group called sednoids—basically, distant space rocks that haven't been much disturbed since the solar system's early days.
Possible signs of a lost giant planet
Ammonite's orbit stands out from the other known sednoids, making scientists rethink how our outer solar system works.
Its weird path suggests there might have once been a giant planet out there that got kicked out, which could explain these unusual orbits.
This also throws some shade on the whole "Planet Nine" theory.
Time capsule from the solar system's early days
Ammonite is huge for its kind—about 220-380km wide—and its orbit has barely changed for over 4 billion years. That makes it kind of like a time capsule from when our solar system was just forming.
Scientists used powerful telescopes like Subaru and CFHT to spot it at its closest point to the Sun, still an incredible 66 to 71 times farther out than Earth.
More research on Ammonite could reveal even more about where we all came from.