La foto di famiglia del Sistema solare si fa sempre più affollata: l'ultimo ad aggiungersi è il pianeta nano “2014 UZ224”, un sasso spaziale del diametro di 530 chilometri appena (che dista 13,7 miliardi di chilometri dal sole e completa un'orbita in 1’100 anni terrestri) scoperto alle spalle di Plutone dall'astrofisico David Gerdes, dell'Università del Michigan.
Il primo riconoscimento ufficiale arriva da una nota del Minor Planet Center, la massima autorità internazionale in materia, che opera presso lo Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). Per avere la conferma definitiva, però, si dovrà attendere il parere dell'Unione astronomica internazionale (IAU), la stessa che in passato ha preso la controversa decisione di declassare Plutone a pianeta nano. Se arriverà anche il riconoscimento ufficiale dell'Unione astronomica internazionale (Iau), 2014 UZ224 diventerà il sesto pianeta nano del Sistema solare, dopo Plutone, Eris, Haumea, Makemake e Cerere.
La presenza del nuovo “pianetino” è stata individuata grazie a uno speciale strumento, chiamato Dark Energy Camera (DECam).
ATS/ANSA/Swing
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