Have you ever wondered what the farthest object in our solar system is? Meet “FarFarOut”! This amazing space object is officially called 2018 AG37, and it’s the most distant thing we’ve found in our solar system so far. It’s a trans-Neptunian object, which means it orbits the Sun beyond Neptune.
FarFarOut was discovered by a group of astronomers named Scott S. Sheppard, David J. Tholen, and Chad Trujillo. They found it at the Mauna Kea Observatories in Hawaii. They were using a super powerful telescope called the Subaru Telescope, which is 8.2 meters wide! The astronomers were actually looking for something else called Planet Nine, but they found FarFarOut by accident. Isn’t it cool how sometimes we find amazing things when we’re not even looking for them?
FarFarOut is really, really far from the Sun. It’s 140 astronomical units (AU) away. One AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun, so FarFarOut is 140 times farther from the Sun than we are! To give you an idea, Pluto, which is also very far, is only about 39.5 AU from the Sun. This makes FarFarOut the farthest object we’ve seen in our solar system.
FarFarOut is very faint, which means it’s not very bright. It has an apparent magnitude of 25, so you need one of the biggest telescopes in the world to see it. Based on how bright it is, scientists think FarFarOut is about 250 miles wide. They believe it’s mostly made of ice, but they need to study it more to be sure about its size and what it’s made of.
FarFarOut, or 2018 AG37, is an exciting discovery that helps us learn more about our solar system. As the farthest known object we’ve observed, it captures the imagination of astronomers and space fans everywhere. It reminds us just how big and mysterious our cosmic neighborhood is!
Model the Solar System: Create a simple model of the solar system using everyday objects. Use a large ball to represent the Sun and smaller balls or beads for the planets. Place them in order from the Sun, and use string or yarn to measure the distances between them. For FarFarOut, place it much farther away from the other planets to show its distance. Discuss with your classmates why FarFarOut is so far away and what it might be like out there.
Explore Distances with a Walk: Take a walk outside to understand astronomical units (AU). If 1 AU (the distance from the Earth to the Sun) is represented by 10 steps, how many steps would you need to take to represent the distance to FarFarOut (140 AU)? Try walking this distance with your friends or family and imagine how far away FarFarOut is from the Sun compared to Earth.
Imagine and Draw: Draw a picture of what you think FarFarOut might look like. Use your imagination to add details like icy surfaces, distant stars, or other space objects. Share your drawing with the class and explain why you chose those features. Discuss how scientists use telescopes to learn about objects that are so far away and why it’s important to study them.
