What is interesting about this picture is that this is the artist’s rendition of what the artist believes Sedna looks like (1). Recently, another small world like Sedna was found to have similar properties, known only as VP 2113. Sedna reaches an interesting part of discussion because although it is not the largest object in the Kuiper Belt, a region of area outside of Neptune’s orbit from 30-50 AU, it easily has the largest period, reaching 12,300 years (2). What is fascinating about the new discovery of VP 2113 is that it similarly is a large body that is left relatively unexplained by many theories and structures of the solar system (1).

While Sedna was found in 2003, it was identified as a trans-Neptunian object, objects outside of Neptune’s own orbit. However, most bodies tended to fit within the Kuiper Belt, a belt defined outside of Neptune’s semimajor axis as being between 30-50 AU and thus defining a moment. However, Sedna defied many of the similarities in the area, and does not match much data with its other Kuiper Belt Objects, many of which have shorter periods, semimajor axes, and eccentricities (2). Now, with the discovery of VP 2113, a neighbor and another trans-Neptunian object, another match is found to relate its data and study further what these bodies should be classified as. Sedna itself has an orbit reaching to 76 AU and reaching out to 1000 AU, unheard of in comparison to the Kuiper belt, and similarly, VP 2113 reaches from 80 AU to 452 AU, with a smaller maximum range but still at a very significantly large semimajor axis. This discovery has led to others questioning these objects and speculating at their further existence, as one astronomer Megan Schwamb wrote that, “something else earlier on in the history of the solar system had to put them on these orbits.” (1)

What this discovery and many like it always reveal is the fascinating nature of science – as we learn more and discover more, there only becomes more to discover, question, and study. I’m excited to find a career or a life where I can always be making more discoveries and realizations and always be ever more curious to search for more.

Sources:

Klotz, Irene – http://news.discovery.com/space/astronomy/small-world-discovered-beyond-pluto-140326.htm

Carroll, Ostlie – Introduction to Modern Astrophysics