2012 VP113

Lore & Background

2012 VP113 was first observed on 5 November 2012 with NOAO's 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. Carnegie's 6.5-meter Magellan telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile was used to determine its orbit and surface properties. Before public announcement, it was tracked only by those two observatories. Precovery images date back to September 2007. The discovery team nicknamed it 'Biden' after then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, abbreviating 'VP' from its provisional designation.

Its absolute magnitude of 4.05 suggests it may be large enough to be a dwarf planet. Its diameter has not been directly measured; assuming a moderate geometric albedo of 0.15 (typical of TNOs), it would be about 450 km (280 mi) across, with a possible range of 300–1,000 km. It is expected to be about half the size of Sedna and similar in size to Huya. Its surface is moderately red, consistent with formation in the gas-giant region rather than the classical Kuiper belt, which is dominated by ultra-red objects.

2012 VP113 has the farthest perihelion of all known minor planets and Solar System objects as of 2025, though its aphelion is only about half of Sedna's. Its last perihelion was within a couple months of September 1979. The similarity of its orbit to other extreme TNOs led Sheppard and Trujillo to suggest an undiscovered Planet Nine shepherding these objects. It is possibly a member of a hypothesized Hills cloud, and its argument of perihelion clusters near 340°±55° with other distant bodies. How it acquired such a distant perihelion is unknown; explanations include a passing star, a trans-Neptunian planet, or multiple interactions in the Sun's birth cluster.

Reader's Guide

2012 VP113 is significant as the second discovered sednoid, confirming that Sedna is not unique and that a population of objects with perihelia beyond 50 AU exists. Its extreme orbit—perihelion 80.5 AU, far beyond Neptune's influence—raises questions about the early Solar System's dynamical history. The clustering of arguments of perihelion among known sednoids and other extreme TNOs has been cited as evidence for a possible Planet Nine. The object's reddish surface suggests it originated in the gas-giant region rather than the classical Kuiper belt. Its size, comparable to Huya and half that of Sedna, makes it a candidate dwarf planet, though its diameter remains unmeasured. Planned Hubble Space Telescope imaging in 2026 may reveal whether it has moons. The Kuiper cliff—a paucity of bodies with perihelia at 50–75 AU—is not an observational artifact, and 2012 VP113's orbit helps define this boundary. Its discovery has spurred searches for other distant objects and deepened the mystery of the outer Solar System's architecture.

Did You Know?

• It was nicknamed 'Biden' by the discovery team after then-Vice President Joe Biden.
• Precovery images of 2012 VP113 date back to September 2007.
• The Hubble Space Telescope is planned to image 2012 VP113 in 2026 to search for moons.