FLORIDA – Astronomers have spotted the farthest known object in our solar system – and they’ve nicknamed the pink cosmic body “Farout.”The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday. “Farout” is about 120 astronomical units away – that’s 120 times the distance between Earth and the sun, or 17.6 billion kms. The previous record-holder was the dwarf planet Eris at 96 astronomical units. Pluto, by comparison, is 34 astronomical units away. The Carnegie Institution’s Scott Sheppard said the object is so far away and moving so slowly it will take a few years to determine its orbit.

Source: Philippine Star December 18, 2018 16:15 UTC