A search of public telescope images has revealed a new candidate for a dwarf planet in the outer reaches of the solar system. Will DePue and colleagues Joshua Wolk and Luke Farritor identified the object by using the Claude AI model to scan archival data from NASA and ESA, discovering a body that had remained unnoticed in the databases for over 10 years. The potential dwarf planet is roughly the 50th largest known object in the solar system, with a width about one quarter that of Pluto and an orbit approximately twice as distant from the Sun.
Following the discovery, DePue announced a $100,000 grant to encourage amateur astronomers to continue searching public databases for other undetected celestial objects. Wolk is currently working to confirm the findings regarding the new candidate. DePue stated that professional astronomers often lack the time to analyze the volume of public data available, leaving opportunities for others to find new planets and asteroids.
