In this episode of Cosmic Brew, we dive into the discovery of a possible new dwarf planet at the edge of our solar system, nicknamed 2017 OF201. We explore what makes a dwarf planet different from a regular planet, revisit the story of Pluto’s controversial reclassification, and learn how astronomers used clever algorithms and massive datasets to spot this tiny, faraway world. With an orbit that takes 25,000 years to complete, this icy object—and others like it—may hold key clues about how the solar system formed and evolved.

Information about the five dwarf planets in the solar system here: https://science.nasa.gov/dwarf-planets/

Check out the technical paper on the new dwarf planet candidate: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.15806#