The outskirts of the Solar System are a lot more crowded than we think . Beyond the arena of Neptune , stargazer expect that there is a huge amount of minuscule bodies and perhaps even a gargantuan major planet , with astronomers groovy to learn what these remote worlds are like .
2014 UZ224 , also known as DeeDee , is one of these worlds , so scientists employed theAtacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array(ALMA ) to get a elaborated analytic thinking of this Earth . It has a diam of 635 kilometers ( 395 miles ) , which is about 67 percent of the diameter of Ceres – the midget satellite in the Asteroid Belt .
At that size , DeeDee is likely to be spherical , which is a requirement if this object hop to get a “ dwarf planet ” status in the future tense . The analysis is reported inAstrophysical Journal Letters .
ALMA image of 2014 UZ224 , nickname DeeDee . ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO
" Far beyond Pluto is a region amazingly ample with planetary body . Some are quite small , but others have sizes to touch Pluto and could possibly be much larger , " lead generator David Gerdes , from the University of Michigan , said in astatement . " Because these objects are so remote and vague , it ’s improbably difficult to even observe them , lease alone study them in any detail . ALMA , however , has unique capabilities that enabled us to learn exciting detail about these distant world . "
The discovery was announced inthe dusk of 2016 , after two years of follow - up reflection to affirm its existence . It ’s the second furthest know object in the Solar System , after dwarf major planet Eris . It ’s currently located 92 fourth dimension further from the Sun than the Earth . It submit DeeDee more than 1,100 year to discharge an sphere .
Astronomers had to use ALMA because the aim is very dusty ( about 30 Kelvins above infrangible zero ) and the lookout can pick up the microwave oven emanation from such a chill world . It ’s also a dirty world , as it reflects about 13 pct of the tiny sunshine it receives – more or less like the dry dirt of a baseball pitch .
DeeDee is a leftover fragment from the outset of the Solar System , and anything that we can learn could open a window onto the source of our planet . And DeeDee is likely just one of many .
" There are still new worlds to reveal in our cosmic backyard , " conclude Gerdes . " The Solar System is a rich and complicated place . "
Distance of DeeDee compare to other objective in our Solar System . Alexandra Angelich / NRAO / AUI / NSF
