Scientists named the largest unnamed "planet" in the solar system - this object turned out to be the celestial body 2007 OR10, which has attracted the attention of researchers before.
2007 OR10 is one of the largest trans-Neptunian objects and a candidate for dwarf planets. It was opened relatively recently: in 2007, and it was officially announced in 2009. Among the questions of interest to the researchers were the 2007 OR10 sizes. According to early estimates, the diameter of this trans-Neptunian object is 1280 km.
However, now the Hungarian astronomer Andras Pal and his colleagues have decided to refine the data. They analyzed in detail the information obtained by the Herschel and Kepler telescopes. Scientists measured the object's rotational speed, which in turn helped establish the true dimensions of the 2007 OR10. It turned out that the diameter of the trans-Neptunian object is 1535 km. This is 100 km more than Makemake, the third largest dwarf planet in the solar system. In other words, 2007 OR10, unexpectedly for the scientific world, became the largest object in the Kuiper belt, not counting the dwarf planets Pluto and Eris.
Dwarf planets
Photo: NASA
“Our new 2007 OR10 size estimates suggest that this planet is covered in a 'coat' of frozen volatiles - methane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen - that would have evaporated into space if it were smaller. I am very pleased that we were able to discover such interesting details about the appearance of this distant, recently discovered world, which is also extremely difficult to see due to the very dark surface,”said Andras Pal. The larger than previously thought 2007 OR10 also explains the reddish tinge of its surface, scientists say.
According to the scientists who discovered this trans-Neptunian object, now, after specifying the size, it can get its own name. Like other dwarf planets, 2007 OR10 can be named after one of the mythological deities.
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Earlier, we recall, it became known that the dwarf planet Makemake has its own satellite. The discovery was made thanks to the Hubble telescope. The study showed that the MK 2 object has a diameter of about 150 km and is located at a distance of 20 thousand km from Makemake. But the discovery of the satellite posed a question for scientists, which concerns the difference between it and the "parent" dwarf planet. The fact is that Makemake has a brightly shiny cold surface, while MK 2 is darker and heats up more.
