Scientists may have discovered a new dwarf planet hiding on the edge of our Solar System, and it could be one of the largest objects of its kind ever found.
Our Solar System is home to eight planets, but there are also smaller worlds orbiting the Sun, including Pluto, which was famously stripped of its planet status in 2006.
Now, scientists believe another could be joining the list after discovering a mysterious object far beyond Neptune, the most distant of our eight planets.
Scientists discover possible new dwarf planet beyond Pluto
Named 2026 ED138, the object could be between 370 and 930 miles wide, although more research is needed before it can officially be classified as a dwarf planet.
The discovery was made using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which houses the largest digital camera ever built.
Vera C. Rubin ObservatoryAccording to the observatory’s official announcement, astronomer Matthew Holman spotted the object on October 13 while analyzing images captured earlier in 2026.
“My first reaction was one of excited disbelief,” Holman said. “Objects like this are very rare, so I immediately started checking whether I or the code had done something wrong.”
ED138 is currently around 46 times farther from the Sun than Earth, placing it beyond Pluto’s average orbital distance.
Despite its estimated size, it had remained undiscovered because it appears against a particularly crowded area of the night sky, filled with millions of stars.
Dwarf planets are objects that orbit the Sun and are large enough for gravity to pull them into a roughly round shape, but haven’t cleared other objects from their orbital paths. There are currently five officially recognized dwarf planets in our Solar System: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea, and Makemake.
Scientists believe ED138 could meet the requirements, but they need further observations to confirm its size and shape.
There might even be more to come, as the team suggested that several more similarly large objects could still be waiting to be found in the outer Solar System.
This comes months after scientists found a planet like Earth with everything needed to support life.
I’m Abhishek Sharma, an author at TigerJek.com. I enjoy exploring games, testing different strategies, and turning what I learn into clear, useful guides. My goal is to help players understand the game better and improve without the usual confusion.
