(CNN)For the first time, an object in our solar system has been found more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the sun.

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday, calling the object 2018 VG18. But the researchers who found it are calling it “Farout.”
They believe the spherical object is a dwarf planet more than 310 miles in diameter, with a pinkish hue. That color has been associated with objects that are rich in ice, and given its distance from the sun, that isn’t hard to believe. Its slow orbit probably takes more than 1,000 years to make one trip around the sun, the researchers said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/17/world/most-distant-solar-system-object/index.html

dv said:

(CNN)For the first time, an object in our solar system has been found more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the sun.

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday, calling the object 2018 VG18. But the researchers who found it are calling it “Farout.”
They believe the spherical object is a dwarf planet more than 310 miles in diameter, with a pinkish hue. That color has been associated with objects that are rich in ice, and given its distance from the sun, that isn’t hard to believe. Its slow orbit probably takes more than 1,000 years to make one trip around the sun, the researchers said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/17/world/most-distant-solar-system-object/index.html

I’m always on the lookout for Oort cloud objects.

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

Spiny Norman said:

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

Very roughly, 500 km diameter.

All kinds of complications to that depending on composition and history.

It wouldn’t be surprising if an icy body of this size (~300 km) were at least roughly spherical.

Spiny Norman said:

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

It’s smaller for icy bodies (about 300km diameter) than it is for igneous bodies (1000km diameter).

http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2017/08/the-diameter-of-spherical-bodies

Ta blokes.

Bubblecar said:

Spiny Norman said:

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

It’s smaller for icy bodies (about 300km diameter) than it is for igneous bodies (1000km diameter).

http://www.astronomy.com/magazine/ask-astro/2017/08/the-diameter-of-spherical-bodies

Actually that should be 500km for icy bodies.

Spiny Norman said:

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

about 500 km. Slightly more for rock, slightly less for ice.

Spiny Norman said:

What’s the approximate minimum size so the asteroid/mini-me planet forms a sphere?

From memory. No, I don’t need memory, check web.

Vesta is the largest non-spherical, with a mean diameter of 525 km.
There’s only one spherical object smaller than that, no, i’m wrong:
Mimas, diameter 396 km.
Miranda, diameter 471 km.
Enceladus, diameter 504 km.

dv said:

(CNN)For the first time, an object in our solar system has been found more than 100 times farther than Earth is from the sun.

The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery Monday, calling the object 2018 VG18. But the researchers who found it are calling it “Farout.”
They believe the spherical object is a dwarf planet more than 310 miles in diameter, with a pinkish hue. That color has been associated with objects that are rich in ice, and given its distance from the sun, that isn’t hard to believe. Its slow orbit probably takes more than 1,000 years to make one trip around the sun, the researchers said.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/17/world/most-distant-solar-system-object/index.html

Let’s compare 2018 VG18 with other distant objects.
q is perihelion, Q is aphelion. In AU.

Minor planet database, scattered risk objects.

2018 VG18 not in database yet.
2012 DR30 14 3199
2014 FE72 36 2995
2016 FL59 20 2454
2015 TG387 65 2019
Sedna 76 882
2012 VP103 80 436

Eris 38 97

Halley’s Comet 0.6 35

I see, nobody knows what the orbit of 2018 VG18 is yet.

Current distance
Sedna 86 AU
Eris 96 AU
2018 VG18 between 125 and 130 AU.

So the great news here is improved Astronomical techniques enabling the seeing of faint solar system objects much further than before.