The Goblin

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Image: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Image: Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

Scientists who confirmed the existence of 2015 TG387 out beyond the Kuiper Belt believe its orbit offers the best evidence of the existence of the long-speculated Planet X in our solar system.
2015 TG387 (aka “The Goblin”) is a trans-Neptunian object around 200 miles in diameter.
It was first observed at Mauna Kea Observatories on October 13, 2015, by astronomers David J. Tholen, Scott S. Sheppard, and Chad Trujillo, and publicly announced on October 1, 2018.
2015 TG387 is currently some 80 AU (Astronomical Units) from the Sun (AU is approximately 93 million miles, or roughly the distance from the Sun to Earth).
As such, 2015TG387 is about two-and-a-half times farther out than Pluto’s current location.
By contrast, Planet X is expected to be at a distance of 600AU, and 10 times the mass of Earth.
Also hints at existence of many other bodies yet to be discovered and will contribute heavily to the discussion of what defines a planet.

With clear skies during the week, a beautiful thin crescent moon can be seen in the pre-dawn sky.
Jupiter is very low in the west, Saturn and Mars can be spotted along the south-southwest.

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