The Speculist

Time Was They Would Have Called This a "Planet"

Largest Solar System body spotted since Pluto

The largest object to be discovered in the Solar System since Pluto was found in 1930 was spotted by a sky survey on Tuesday.

News of the hulking object leaked out on Thursday before the researchers at Caltech could pin down the giant's size and orbit.

The new object, which has been given the oh-so-poetic name 2004 DW, is 1650 kilometres in diameter. Contrast that with Pluto's 2320 kilometres, and its moon Charon's diameter of 1270. The next-biggest Kuiper Belt object after 2004 DW (unless we're now counting Pluto itself as a "Kuiper Belt object — could the ninth planet have fallen so low? — I note that the New Scientist article never once uses the P word in reference to Pluto) is the much-better named Quaoar, with a diameter of 1250 kilometres.