Volume 2

FEATURED DISCOVERY

A potential new dwarf planet was just discovered at the edge of our solar system

The trans-Neptunian object 2017 OF201 has a rare, highly elongated orbit—coming near Pluto at its closest and stretching about 36 times farther at its farthest point. It takes 25,000 years to complete one orbit, making it one of the most distant known objects in our solar system. Measuring around 700 km wide, it’s about one-third the size of Pluto and qualifies as a dwarf planet.

Discovered by detecting unexpected points of light in visible images covering a sky area roughly 50 times the size of the full Moon, collected over seven years, this finding highlights that even after decades of study, we are still uncovering new parts of our solar system. It underscores the immense value of mapping “all the sky, all the time.”

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COMMUNITY
HIGHLIGHTS

SkyMapper and EHBE Join to Expand Space Exploration Access for First Nation Communities

SkyMapper and EHBE are collaborating to make space exploration more accessible and engaging by combining SkyMapper’s telescope infrastructure with EHBE’s immersive “Edventure” community programs. This partnership aims to empower learning, discovery, and scientific advancement through a community-driven ecosystem.
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The agreement ensures both organizations benefit fairly as the community grows, with a value-sharing system that starts with fiat rewards and will evolve into tokenization, keeping community impact central.