New Possible Dwarf Planet Discovered

Growing up as a kid, all of the astronomy books for kids talked about the 9 planets and the search for Planet X. Pluto was still a planet at the time, but there were ZERO other known planets. Fast forward to today and Pluto is no longer a planet and there are now, as of October 2018, 3,851 known planets, with all but 8 outside our Solar System orbiting other stars. Wow! But that doesn't mean we aren't finding new things in our Solar System. There's a search for a possible distant planet in our Solar System, and although it has not been found yet, other things are being found. For example, astronomers just discovered a new possible dwarf planet, nicknamed "The Goblin", orbiting the Sun, with an elliptical orbit taking it as far out as 2300 A.U. Wow!

Orbit of "The Goblin". Image: Roberto Molar Candanosa and Scott Sheppard, courtesy of Carnegie Institution for Science.

Right now there are only 5 dwarf planets officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union, but there are upwards of another 200 possibilities. "The Goblin" just adds to that list.

Astronomy was exiting when I was a kid and it's still exciting today. The discoveries are different, but that just adds to the excitement. Had you told me as a kid that 30 years later we'd know of nearly 4000 planets and potentially hundreds of dwarf planets, I'd probably say you were crazy. All the talk at the time was for the elusive Planet X in our Solar System. We haven't found another Solar System planet yet, but there is strong evidence, based on orbits of dwarf planets, that a large planet exists in the outer reaches of the Solar System. In my opinion it's just a matter of time before we officially discover it.