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  • Roberto Molar Candanosa/Carnegie Institution for Science

    'Farout' is the farthest Solar System object known to date

    by 
    Jon Fingas
    Jon Fingas
    12.18.2018

    The reach of the Solar System extends well beyond the full-size planets, and that's becoming clearer than ever with a new discovery. Astronomers have detected 2018 VG18 "Farout," which is the most distant Solar System object known to date at 120AU from the Sun (about 11.15 billion miles) -- the previous record-setter, the dwarf planet Eris, is 'just' 96AU away. That makes it over three and a half times farther from the Sun than Pluto (34AU), and over 100 times farther than Earth. But what is it, exactly?