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Newly Discovered Sednoid Challenges Planet Nine Evidence

A divergent orbit undercuts the clustering argument for Planet Nine, elevating a model in which a ninth planet was ejected.

Figure 1: Artist’s illustration of the distant Solar System object nicknamed "Ammonite." (Credit: AI-generated illustration by Ying-Tung Chen (ASIAA))
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Overview

  • Designated 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed “Ammonite,” the object is the fourth known sednoid discovered by Japanese astronomers using Subaru Telescope observations and confirmed with the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope.
  • Ammonite follows a highly elongated path ranging between 66 AU at its closest approach and 252 AU at its farthest, a trajectory that sets it apart from previously known sednoids.
  • Its misaligned orientation weakens the gravitational clustering argument that has driven the Planet Nine hypothesis since 2016.
  • Researchers led by Dr. Yukun Huang propose that a once-present ninth planet could have been expelled from the solar system, causing the current dispersion of distant orbits.
  • Next-generation wide-field surveys by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are anticipated to test theories of distant solar system structure and clarify the origins of sednoid orbits.