Astronomers have discovered what is now known as the most distant object in the solar system, as it is estimated to be 15.5 billion km away from the Sun, or about three times farther than Pluto.
The dwarf planet, named V774104, was introduced Tuesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society, according to AFP.
The discovery, which was made with Japan's Subaru telescope, could mean more undiscovered planets in the celestial neighborhood.
The team that spotted V774104 is made up of astronomers who specialize in detecting Solar System outliers. They were headed by Scott Sheppard from Carnegie Institution for Science and Chad Trujillo from the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, BBC News reported.
"We don't know much about its orbit. If the object becomes interesting or not depends on its orbit. We don't know of any other objects that are this far away from the sun. This can help us understand how the outer solar system was formed," Sheppard said, according to ABC News.
V774104 is estimated to be 103 astronomical units from the sun. Before this discovery, the dwarf planet Eris held the title for the most distant object in the solar system with a distance from the sun of 96 astronomical units.
