Earth has a newly-discovered neighbor in the solar system.
But the heavenly body – possibly a dwarf planet à la Pluto – isn't a frequent visitor. Located beyond Neptune, its extreme orbit circumnavigates the sun once every 25,000 years, taking it beyond our solar system.
The new object, named 2017 OF201, was discovered by researchers in an astronomical image database while searching for trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) and possible new planets in the outer solar system.
Sihao Cheng, an astrophysicist at the Institute for Advanced Study’s School of Natural Sciences, led the team that discovered the object, which he described as an "extreme 'cousin' of Pluto," in a comment on his personal website.
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