Planets and Dwarf Planets Codexery

2018 AG37

Farthest currently observable known object in the Solar System.

Last updated

It was nicknamed "FarFarOut" to emphasize its extreme distance.[1] The object designated 2018 AG37, a centaur and distant trans-Neptunian object, was located at a distance of 132.2 AU from the Sun at the time of its discovery, making it more remote than any other currently observable Solar System body.[2] Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo identified this object on 15 January 2018.[2]

Key facts and history

The discovery was made using the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope at Maunakea Observatory, Hawaii.[3] He estimated its distance at roughly 140 AU based on two positions in images taken one day apart.[3] Sheppard jokingly nicknamed it "FarFarOut" during a rescheduled talk on 21 February 2019.[4] The Carnegie press release states the object orbits at about 132 AU and takes about 1,000 years to circle the Sun.[5]

The team estimates its size at about 400 kilometers across, putting it on the low end of being a dwarf planet.[5] While examining images captured in 2018, Sheppard first detected the object in January 2019; this review occurred after a lecture he was scheduled to give was postponed because of bad weather.[3] During March 2019, the object was observed again using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade telescope situated in Chile.[4] The Subaru Telescope was employed for further observations in May 2019 and again in January 2020.[6]

On 10 February 2021, the Carnegie Institution for Science issued a press release that formally announced the confirmation of this object.[7]

What the cited sources add

The Carnegie press release notes that Farfarout crosses Neptune's orbit every time, implying strong past gravitational interactions with Neptune.[5] The same source states the team used Gemini North and Magellan telescopes to determine the orbit.[5] The Minor Planet Center lists an absolute magnitude of 4.2 for 2018 AG37.[8] The Minor Planet Center classifies it as a distant object with an orbit type of "Distant object"[9]

The Minor Planet Electronic Circular gives an orbital period of 798 years and an absolute magnitude of 4.22.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021; "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2018 AG37)", Jet Propulsion Laboratory; "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021; "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021; "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37", Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 10 February 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for 2018 AG37", JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System; "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021; "Voyager Mission Status", Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Redd, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Solar System Object Known", Scientific American, 7 March 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37", Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 10 February 2021; Redd, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Solar System Object Known", Scientific American, 7 March 2019; Redd, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Solar System Object Known", Scientific American, 7 March 2019; Voosen, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Solar System Object Known", Science, 21 February 2019; "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37", Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 10 February 2021; Voosen, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Sol en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Voosen, "New "FarFarOut" World Is the Most Distant Solar System Object Known", Science, 21 February 2019 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021. facts only, no text reused. carnegiescience.edu
  6. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37", Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 10 February 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "How Are Minor Planets Named?", Minor Planet Center; "Solar System's Most Distant Known Member Confirmed", Carnegie Science, 10 February 2021 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "2018 AG37" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "2018 AG37", Minor Planet Center; "List Of Centaurs and Scattered-Disk Objects", Minor Planet Center (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "2018 AG37", Minor Planet Center. facts only, no text reused. minorplanetcenter.net
  10. "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37", Minor Planet Electronic Circular, 10 February 2021. facts only, no text reused. minorplanetcenter.net

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article 2018 AG37 (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Sun, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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