Somewhere high in the Chilean Andes, a great survey telescope has spent a year gazing across the southern sky, and in its patient record a faint moving point has been noticed by a Harvard astrophysicist sifting through billions of such points. The object, for now called 2026 ED 183, may be a dwarf planet hundreds of miles across, hidden for so long by the crowded glow of the Milky Way and by the southern position that most of our instruments never look toward. Its size remains an open question that only months of careful measurement can settle, and until then it lives in the careful in-between
Possible New Dwarf Planet Found in Solar System, Candidate 2026 ED 183 Awaits Size Confirmation
Between 370 and 930 miles wide, and still only a candidate
Mark
So what actually happened here? Someone found a new world?
Mimi
Found a candidate. Matthew Holman ran software over a year of Rubin telescope data and ED 183 surfaced among billions of moving objects.
Luke
And 'candidate' is the operative word. It isn't a dwarf planet yet.
Mark
Why did nobody see it before?
Mimi
It moves through the Milky Way, crowded with stars, and it sits in the southern sky, which fewer telescopes survey.
Mark
The size range is huge, 370 to 930 miles.
Luke
Right, that's the gap. The headline comparison to the length of the UK only holds at the top end. Holman says measuring it will take a few months.
Mark
Bannister mentioned a nitrogen glacier.
Mimi
She framed it as a hope, something that would be great to see if a spacecraft ever went.
Luke
Which is the point: nothing is known about its surface. She said so herself, calling the rest speculation.
Mark
And the name?
Mimi
Greek, if it's approved. Holman has had emailed suggestions, but who decides is still unclear.
Der Puls
- A newly spotted object, provisionally named 2026 ED 183, has surfaced from billions of moving points in Vera Rubin telescope data.
- Its estimated width of 370 to 930 miles could make it one of the largest dwarf planets ever found, and the uncertainty leaves astronomers uneasy.
- Scientists are tracing 20 earlier sightings back to March 2026 and working to pin down its true physical size over the coming months.
- Hidden in the crowded Milky Way and the southern sky, it is still only a candidate, and its eventual name and status remain undecided.
Somewhere high in the Chilean Andes, a great survey telescope has spent a year gazing across the southern sky, and in its patient record a faint moving point has been noticed by a Harvard astrophysicist sifting through billions of such points. The object, for now called 2026 ED 183, may be a dwarf planet hundreds of miles across, hidden for so long by the crowded glow of the Milky Way and by the southern position that most of our instruments never look toward. Its size remains an open question that only months of careful measurement can settle, and until then it lives in the careful in-between of a candidate, waiting to be named and placed among the handful of worlds we have counted as dwarf planets.
High on a Chilean mountaintop, at about 8,800 feet, the Vera C. Rubin telescope spent 2026 photographing the sky. Harvard astrophysicist Matthew Holman then ran software through that enormous archive, sorting through billions of moving objects, and one stood out: a candidate dwarf planet now carrying the provisional label 2026 ED 183.
Holman's first reaction was what he calls "excited disbelief," and he quickly checked that nothing had gone wrong. Working with scientist Mario Jurić, he traced 20 earlier sightings going back to March 2026, and that archive of past appearances helps steady the find.
The size is still uncertain. Estimates place ED 183 between 370 and 930 miles across, a range that could make it one of the largest dwarf planets known, or a considerably more modest body. It took so long to spot because it drifts through the Milky Way's dense star field and sits in the southern sky, where most telescopes do not look.
Holman is careful about its status. "At this point, it's still a candidate," he said. Confirming its size will take a few months, and only then could it join Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris, receiving a Greek name. Michele Bannister, who was not involved in the discovery, offered a cautious hope that a future spacecraft might find a nitrogen glacier like Pluto's, while stressing that anything about its makeup is still speculation.
On a mountaintop in Chile, 8,800 feet up, a telescope called the Vera C. Rubin spent 2026 collecting images of the sky. Astrophysicist Matthew Holman, a lecturer at Harvard University, then ran a computer programme through that data, sifting billions of moving objects. One of them stood out: a candidate dwarf planet now carrying the provisional label 2026 ED 183.
Holman says his first reaction was "excited disbelief," and he immediately checked that nothing had gone wrong. Working with scientist Mario Jurić, he then traced 20 additional sightings of the object, going back to March 2026. That archive of earlier appearances helps anchor the find.
The size is the open question. Current estimates put ED 183 between 370 and 930 miles across. At the top of that range it would be wider than the length of the UK, and it could rank among the largest dwarf planets found in the solar system. At the bottom, it would be considerably more modest.
It has taken this long to find for two reasons, according to Holman. The object travels across the Milky Way, where the sheer number of stars makes picking out a moving point very hard. "People don't typically search for things in the Milky Way," he explained. It also lies in the southern sky, and most telescopes survey the northern one.
ED 183 cannot be seen with the naked eye. Holman says it is bright enough that "really capable amateurs" can spot it if they know where to point.
He is careful about the status. "At this point, it's still a candidate," he said. Astronomers need to pin down how physically big it is, which he expects will take a few months. Only then could it be granted official dwarf planet status, joining Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris. It would then receive a new Greek name, though who chooses it is still unclear. Holman says people have already emailed suggestions, some of which are already used by other objects. He hopes he might get to propose something but is not counting on it, calling the naming process a big project.
Michele Bannister, an associate professor who was not part of the discovery, offered some cautious imagination. If a spacecraft ever reached it, she said, it might turn out to have a nitrogen glacier like Pluto's, which she called a great thing to see. She was plain about the limits, though: for now all that is known is that the object is big, and anything about its physical makeup is speculation.
The next step is measurement. Until the size is confirmed, ED 183 stays a candidate with a provisional name.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
At this point, it's still a candidate. We really need to know how physically big it is, and that will take a few months, probably.— Matthew Holman, astrophysicist, Harvard
All we know is that it's big, and the rest is going to be speculation for a little bit.— Michele Bannister, associate professor
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