Farout is far out!

2018 VG18's (Farout's) Orbit    (NASA-JPL photo)

Astronomical geniuses don’t necessarily have time to bother with fancy monikers.

So when “the most distant     solar system object” yet to be discovered needed a nickname,   it was simply dubbed “Farout.”  This pinkish-looking sphere is believed to be ice-laden, probably because it’s 120 times farther from the sun than Earth is.  To put things in perspective, Pluto is a mere 34 times farther.

Scientists believe that it takes Farout a thousand years to revolve once around the sun.  With a suspected diameter of just 310 miles, it would probably qualify as a dwarf planet.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/farout-the-most-distant-solar-system-object-discovered/ar-BBR5vPS?OCID=ansmsnnews11

Copyright December 19, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved