Newly discovered trans-Neptunian object is almost perpendicular to solar-system plane
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.0210021
New Scientist : When a solar system forms, all the components should orbit in the same direction about the central axis. But Matthew Holman of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and his colleagues have now found an object orbiting the Sun at an angle 110° from the plane of the solar system. Dubbed Niku, the object was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 Survey on Haleakala in Hawaii. Niku is 160 000 times fainter than Neptune, meaning it could be less than 200 km in diameter. The new trans-Neptunian object does not appear related to the collection of highly inclined objects that some astronomers think could be evidence of Planet Nine, a large object well outside the orbit of Pluto.
