A mysterious icy object discovered far beyond Pluto is rewriting what we thought we knew about the Solar System’s past.
Nicknamed “Ammonite,” this ancient world has an orbit unlike any other, placing it in the ultra-rare class of “sednoids.” Its discovery, made by the Subaru Telescope and confirmed through years of orbital data, challenges theories about Planet Nine and hints at a possible planetary shakeup billions of years ago. With a stable orbit lasting over 4 billion years, Ammonite may be a cosmic fossil—a remnant of a chaotic era when invisible forces or even lost planets shaped the outskirts of our solar neighborhood.
Discovery of a Distant Object Beyond Pluto
Astronomers using the Subaru Telescope have identified a small, distant object located beyond Pluto that could offer important insights into how the outer Solar System formed, evolved, and came to exist in its current state.
The object, nicknamed “Ammonite” by the research team, was discovered through the FOSSIL project (Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy), which leverages the Subaru Telescope’s wide field of view. Observations made in March, May, and August 2023 led to the initial detection of the object, now officially designated 2023 KQ14. A more traditional name will eventually be given by the International Astronomical Union.
Later, in July 2024, researchers used the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope for follow-up observations and also identified older, previously overlooked sightings of the object in archival data from other observatories. This enabled them to track the object’s path across nearly two decades. Because of its highly unusual and distant orbit, 2023 KQ14 has been classified as a “sednoid,” a very rare category with only three other known members.
Long-Term Orbit and Ancient Stability
Computer simulations run by the FOSSIL team, including those using resources from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, suggest that 2023 KQ14 has followed a stable orbit for roughly 4.5 billion years. While its current trajectory does not match those of the other known sednoids, the models show that their orbits were surprisingly similar around 4.2 billion years ago.
The fact that 2023 KQ14 now follows an orbit different from the other sednoids indicates that the outer Solar System is more diverse and complex than previously thought. This discovery also places new constraints on the hypothetical Planet Nine. If Planet Nine exists, its orbit must lie farther out than typically predicted.
Challenging the Planet Nine Hypothesis
Dr. Yukun Huang of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, who conducted simulations of the orbit, comments, “The fact that 2023 KQ14’s current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis. It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.”
Clues to the Ancient Solar System
Regarding the significance of this discovery, Dr. Fumi Yoshida states, “2023 KQ14 was found in a region far away where Neptune’s gravity has little influence. The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when 2023 KQ14 formed.
“Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the Solar System. At present, the Subaru Telescope is among the few telescopes on Earth capable of making such discoveries. I would be happy if the FOSSIL team could make many more discoveries like this one and help draw a complete picture of the history of the Solar System.”
Reference: “Discovery and dynamics of a Sedna-like object with a perihelion of 66 au” by Ying-Tung Chen, Patryk Sofia Lykawka, Yukun Huang, JJ Kavelaars, Wesley C. Fraser, Michele T. Bannister, Shiang-Yu Wang, Chan-Kao Chang, Matthew J. Lehner, Fumi Yoshida, Brett Gladman, Mike Alexandersen, Edward Ashton, Young-Jun Choi, A. Paula Granados Contreras, Takashi Ito, Youngmin JeongAhn, Jianghui Ji, Myung-Jin Kim, Samantha M. Lawler, Jian Li, Zhong-Yi Lin, Hong-Kyu Moon, Surhud More, Marco Muñoz-Gutiérrez, Keiji Ohtsuki, Lowell Peltier, Rosemary E. Pike, Tsuyoshi Terai, Seitaro Urakawa, Hui Zhang, Haibin Zhao and Ji-Lin Zhou, 14 July 2025, Nature Astronomy.
DOI: 10.1038/s41550-025-02595-7
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5 Comments
You just KNOW some dumb republican knuckle dragger will come in here bitching about this being “fake news” or that the earth is flat, or that science needs to be defunded because “reasons”.
Im just here to get in 1st and tell them theyre all bat s*** crazy, and God doesn’t exist.
Exactly!
RIGHT ON BROTHER 💯👍😅 Amen to that!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Careful, Mr. McGill.
Please remember that one “cannot prove a negative”. The unsupportable proclamations of vociferous atheists often reflect an equal yet opposite intellectual hubris to those of religious zealots.
A more nuanced version of your theological sentiment would be, “As Carl Sagan succinctly observed, ‘Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof,’ and, as yet, [you] have seen no such proof for the existence of God (as conventionally imagined).”
Anyone claiming a prospective of scientific objectivity must always leave open the possibility that new data/evidence may require a reevaluation of one’s previous beliefs. Openness to evidence is what separates the scientist/intellectual seeker from the zealot — whether deity affirming or deity rejecting.
“cannot prove a negative” – mostly true, but in rare occasions it is possible. The proof then is by contradiction. The Christian god as commonly perceived – all knowing, all good and all powerful – can be shown not to exist. This is because we see suffering of innocent children in this world – the god either did not know, or couldn’t prevent the suffering, or didn’t want to do so. Now, some Christians try to work around that by saying god works in mysterious ways – in which case, they are admitting that they do not know their god and cannot possibly know what that god wants them to do.
“new data/evidence may require a reevaluation of one’s previous beliefs” – true, but it is important not to fall into the 50-50 trap: we cannot disprove god, and so the chances are 50-50 that god exists vs. not exists. Your Carl Sagan quote is about that. The god hypothesis is such a strange hypothesis, that it needs extraordinary proof. And while that proof is being produced – and here is the key point – we ought to assume that god doesn’t exist. We live the rest of our lives that way – if I told you that I am a trillionaire – then you would disbelieve me. (Even though – the trillionaire hypothesis is better than the god hypothesis since it doesn’t violate any laws of Physics.) If I told you that my net worth is greater than $1, then you would likely believe me without needing any extraordinary proof.
Finally, many people who grew up in religious households are fearful of hell or god’s wrath after death. So, they go through the motions of belief to ward off that outcome, even if the probability is small. This fear is ingrained from childhood, and is a psychological problem. However, it is illogical and the best argument comes from none other than Homer Simpson: “But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.” A bit of travel and a bit of education is the best defense against this psychological bondage. No wonder religious fundamentalists want you not to partake in the fruit of knowledge.