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By 12 July 2016 | Categories: news

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A new dwarf planet has been discovered beyond Pluto. The ice covered dwarf planet was found by the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope, which is situated on Mauna Kea, in Hawaii. For now, the dwarf planet has not been given a snazzy name, but simply designated as 2015 RR245

It was first spotted in February this year by a team of astronomers, but only now has it been confirmed as a fully fledged dwarf planet. It is believed to be roughly 700 kilometres (width) in size, making it far smaller than Pluto at 2372 km wide. 

While its planetary status is still up for debate given its size, it still orbits our solar system's Sun, and has a peculiar orbital pattern at that. To that end, it makes its orbit an estimated 120 times further than that of Earth's. Its wide orbit also means that ascertaining its precise makeup and size is a little difficult, which is why the University of Victoria's (British Columbia) Dr. Michele Bannister notes that an examination of its surface properties is required. 

What makes this dwarf planet particularly interesting, is that objects of its size have been thrown out of our solar system, as they either lacked the necessary gravity required to stay in orbit, or got knocked aside by the larger gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn) we know today.   

Whether NASA plans to send a satellite into space to further investigate this new dwarf planet has not been discussed as of yet.

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