817 trans-Neptunian objects, including 461 previously unknown objects, have been identified thanks to data from the Dark Energy Survey program.
A research team from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), consisting of various institutions and astronomical research units worldwide, has announced that this new discovery represents a significant change in our understanding of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in the Solar System.
Trans-Neptunian Objects – (Graphic from NASA).
According to Science Alert, these objects hold traces of the primordial dynamics of the Solar System. Many members of the TNO family are actually remnants of the early Solar System, holding secrets about the building blocks of planets, and possibly even the building blocks of life on Earth and neighboring planets (many studies suggest that some planets like Mars and Venus may have once harbored life).
Traces of the primordial dynamics of the Solar System include the movements of giant planets as they approach their orbits, such as Jupiter. With its immense gravitational force, Jupiter influences many such objects to move along with it.
Some trans-Neptunian objects also reveal clues about something invisible yet massive that is disturbing them in the far reaches of space beyond this eighth planet: it could be the elusive ninth planet.
In the new catalog, there are 9 TNOs classified as TNOs “extreme”, which are located very far from the Sun, residing in a region that could be home to a ninth planet. Four of them are located at a distance from the Sun of up to 230 astronomical units (AU), which is 230 times the distance between the Sun and Earth.
The study was published online on arXiv.
