India, Oct. 31 -- Astronomers have discovered a massive object in the outer Solar System that could become the sixth officially recognised dwarf planet. The object, named 2026 ED138, was identified using observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile and is estimated to measure between 600 and 1,500 kilometres across.

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The discovery was announced on October 27 by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. Scientists believe the object could be among the largest dwarf planet candidates discovered beyond Neptune.

Astrophysicist Matthew Holman of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics spotted the object o...