Icy body beyond Pluto could become the solar system's sixth dwarf planet

A team of astronomers has spotted a new icy body orbiting the Sun beyond Pluto that could become the sixth recognised dwarf planet in the solar system if upcoming observations confirm its properties.

The object carries the provisional designation 2026 ED138. Its diameter is estimated at between 600 and 1,500 kilometres, and it orbits at about 46 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, compared with an average of about 40 times for Pluto. It was found with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on the summit of Cerro Pachón in central Chile. Astrophysicist Matt Holman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, the first to spot it, said the find shows that many exciting discoveries still await scientists through Rubin and other telescopes.

The International Astronomical Union currently recognises five dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Makemake, all beyond the orbit of Neptune, plus Ceres in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Early data suggest the new object may be among the largest dwarf planets, although the wide size range shows that scientists need more precise measurements before settling its classification.

The discovery recalls the union's 2006 decision to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet after decades in which it was counted as the ninth planet, because it did not meet the formal definition of a planet. That decision created the dwarf planet category in its current form.

Al Majlis Analysis: The bigger story here is not only the object itself but the instrument that found it. The Rubin Observatory was built to survey the southern sky repeatedly over many years, which allows it to catch faint, distant objects that slipped past earlier telescopes. A dwarf-planet-sized candidate turning up so early in the observatory's work suggests the Kuiper Belt, the cold region beyond Neptune, may hide more large bodies than previously thought. But science moves on confirmation, not headlines. Classifying the object requires accurate measurements of its size and mass, which could take months or years of observation. Until then, 2026 ED138 remains a promising candidate rather than an official dwarf planet.