List_of_Solar_System_objects_most_distant_from_the_Sun

List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun

List of Solar System objects most distant from the Sun


These Solar System minor planets are the furthest from the Sun as of January 2026. The objects have been categorized by their approximate distance from the Sun on that date, and not by the calculated aphelion of their orbit. The list changes over time because the objects are moving in their orbits. Some objects are inbound and some are outbound. It would be difficult to detect long-distance comets if it were not for their comas, which become visible when heated by the Sun. Distances are measured in astronomical units (AU, Sun–Earth distances). The distances are not the minimum (perihelion) or the maximum (aphelion) that may be achieved by these objects in the future.

Positions of known outer Solar System objects
  Sun
  Jupiter trojans (6,178)
  Scattered disc (>300)   Giant planets: J · S · U · N
  Centaurs (44,000)
  Kuiper belt (>1,000)
(scale in AU; epoch as of January 2026; # of objects in parentheses)

This list does not include near-parabolic comets of which many are known to be currently more than 100 AU (15 billion km) from the Sun, but are currently too far away to be observed by telescope. Trans-Neptunian objects are typically announced publicly months or years after their discovery, so as to make sure the orbit is correct before announcing it. Due to their greater distance from the Sun and slow movement across the sky, trans-Neptunian objects with observation arcs less than several years often have poorly constrained orbits. Particularly distant objects take several years of observations to establish a crude orbit solution before being announced. For instance, the most distant known trans-Neptunian object 2018 AG37 was discovered by Scott Sheppard in January 2018 but was announced three years later in February 2021.[1]

Notable objects

One particularly distant body is 90377 Sedna, which was discovered in November 2003. It has an extremely eccentric orbit that takes it to an aphelion of 937 AU.[2] It takes over 10,000 years to orbit, and during the next 50 years it will slowly move closer to the Sun as it comes to perihelion at a distance of 76 AU from the Sun.[3] Sedna is the largest known sednoid, a class of objects that play an important role in the Planet Nine hypothesis. The discovery of 2017 OF201 challenges the existence of hypothetical Planet Nine as its orbit is anti-aligned to the calculated orbit of Planet Nine. It is suggested that that hypothetical planet would have ejected 2017 OF201 from its present-day orbit over times scales of less than 100 million years, though it could be in a temporary orbit.[4][5]

Pluto (30–49 AU, about 34 AU in 2015) was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered (1930) and is the largest known dwarf planet.

Six original and eight additional ETNO objects orbits with their positions near their perihelion in purple, with hypothetical Planet Nine orbit in green

Known distant objects

This is a list of known objects at heliocentric distances of more than 80 AU. In theory, the Oort cloud could extend over 120,000 AU (2 ly) from the Sun.

More information Object name, Distance from the Sun (AU) ...
  1. AU/yr indicates whether the object is moving inwards or outwards in its orbit, and the rate at which it does so.
  2. Distance and orbital elements are crudely estimated based on a short observation arc.

See also


References

  1. "MPEC 2021-C187 : 2018 AG37". Minor Planet Electronic Circular. Minor Planet Center. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  2. Horizons output. "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for 90377 Sedna (2003 VB12)". Retrieved 18 September 2021. (Solution using the Solar System barycenter. Select Ephemeris Type:Elements and Center:@0) (Saved Horizons output file 2011-Feb-04 "Barycentric Osculating Orbital Elements for 90377 Sedna". Archived from the original on 19 November 2012.) In the second pane "PR=" can be found, which gives the orbital period in days (4.160E+06, which is 11,390 Julian years).
  3. Cheng, Sihao; Li, Jiaxuan; Yang, Eritas (2025). "Discovery of a dwarf planet candidate in an extremely wide orbit: 2017 OF201". arXiv:2505.15806 [astro-ph.EP].
  4. "An Extreme Cousin for Pluto? Possible Dwarf Planet Discovered at Solar System's Edge". www.ias.edu (Press release). Institute for Advanced Study. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  5. "AstDyS-2, Asteroids  Dynamic Site". Retrieved 6 July 2025. Objects with distance from Sun over 80 AU
  6. JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris". Retrieved 6 July 2025.
    Ephemeris Type: Vector; Observer Location: @sun; Time Span: Start=2015-12-01, Stop=2026-01-01, Intervals=1; Table Settings: quantities code=6
  7. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for Voyager 1 at epoch 2026-01-01". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 July 2025. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
  8. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for Voyager 2 at epoch 2026-01-01". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 July 2025. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
  9. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for Voyager 2 at epoch 2026-01-01". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 July 2025. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
  10. "2018 AG37". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  11. "2018 VG18". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  12. Stone, E. C.; Cummings, A. C.; Heikkila, B.C.; Lal, Nand (2019). "Cosmic ray measurements from Voyager 2 as it crossed into interstellar space". Nature Astronomy. 3 (11): 1013–1018. Bibcode:2019NatAs...3.1013S. doi:10.1038/s41550-019-0928-3. S2CID 209962964.
  13. "JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris for Voyager 2 at epoch 2026-01-01". JPL Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 6 July 2025. Solution using the Solar System Barycenter. Ephemeris Type: Elements and Center: @0)
  14. "2020 BE102". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  15. "2020 FY30". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  16. "2020 FA31". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  17. "2020 FQ40". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  18. "2015 TH367". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  19. "2017 OF201". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  20. "2021 DR15". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  21. "2014 UZ224". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  22. "2015 FG415". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  23. "2014 FC69". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  24. "2006 QH181". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  25. "2015 VO166". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  26. "2012 VP113". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  27. "2017 SN132". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  28. "2013 FS28". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  29. "2021 DP15". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.
  30. "2015 UH87". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 6 July 2025.

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