Astronomers have recently announced the discovery of perhaps one of the most distant objects in our Solar System, a dwarf planet temporarily named 2012 VP113. Along with fellow dwarf planet Sedna, 2012 VP113 may be considered to be within the inner reaches of the Oort Cloud. The Oort Cloud, as recently discussed on the third episode of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, is a hypothesized sphere of large icy bodies, mostly planetesimals, that is thought to be the origin of comets before a slight gravitational tug from the Sun starts them on their journey inwards.
The discoveries of extremely distant bodies like 2012 VP113 are difficult because objects at such a distance from the Sun reflect very little light back to Earth. They also serve as a reminder of how little we know about what lies at the outer edges of our own Solar System. At the same time, studying these objects can be incredibly valuable as they may offer hints at the earliest stages of the Solar System when the Sun and planets were just beginning to form.
The image shows 2012 VP113's movement (indicated by the arrow) as it was tracked over a four hour period.
Read more about the announcement here: http://goo.gl/oZ97qj
Watch Episode 3 of COSMOS: "When Knowledge Conquered Fear" for free on Hulu: http://bit.ly/COSMOS-Ep3