When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. An artist's interpretation of a trans-Neptunian object. | Credit: Artwork: NASA, ESA, and G.

Trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) are some of our solar system's lesser-known objects. They number in the thousands, and they get their name from their orbits. These dwarf planets orbit the sun at a ...

The outer reaches of our Solar System continue to reveal a complex dynamical environment where the interplay of gravitational forces shapes the orbits of a myriad of distant bodies. Research in this ...

The trans-Neptunian region, extending beyond Neptune, represents a primordial reservoir of icy and rocky bodies that have remained relatively unchanged since the Solar System’s formation. Central to ...

Astronomers have uncovered a massive new trans-Neptunian object, 2017 OF201, lurking at the edge of our solar system. With an orbit stretching 25,000 years and a size that may qualify it as a dwarf ...

A new extreme trans-Neptunian object (ETNO), designated 2023 KQ14 (Ammonite), has been discovered, representing only the fourth known sednoid – a class of ETNOs with highly distant and elongated ...

Thanks to JWST, we've learned key details about methanol — a key building block for organic compounds necessary for life — on distant icy worlds. When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

In a distant corner of our solar system called the Kuiper Belt, icy bodies lurk in the darkness, orbiting our sun at vast distances. These ancient minor planets are called trans-Neptunian objects ...