The newly discovered object, 2026 ED138, could be among the largest worlds ever found past Neptune. If confirmed, it would be the sixth dwarf planet recognized in our solar system.

| Published: October 30, 2026

This composite image from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Simonyi Survey Telescope, traces the orbit of dwarf planet candidate 2026 ED138. The teal circles show its position on 20 nights between March and July 2026. Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA. Acknowledgement: Image Processing: M. Jurić (UW), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory may have found its first dwarf planet. Orbiting beyond Pluto, the object may also be one of the brightest and biggest in that stretch of the solar system.

Matthew Holman, a Rubin operations team member and senior astrophysicist at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, discovered the dwarf planet candidate, now designated 2026 ED138, on the night of Oct. 13.…