Buzz
With 4,826 verified planets and Kepler candidates, alongside the discovery of a gas giant with an enormous system of 160 rings, it may appear that we have a good grasp of what lies beyond in our vast universe.
Yet, the universe has a way of perplexing us, and to be honest, humanity still hasn't fully comprehended everything within our very own solar system.
10. Orcus and Vanth
Most of us are familiar with Pluto, particularly after it was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 and the media buzz surrounding the New Horizons probe's upcoming flyby. But have you ever heard of its counterpart, sometimes called 'anti-Pluto'? 90482 Orcus is a Kuiper Belt object that shares nearly identical orbital characteristics—period, inclination, and distance from the Sun—with Pluto.
Pluto and Orcus both have a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune, though Orcus follows a different orientation. Their orbits are strikingly similar, and they both possess moons that are notably large in comparison to their size. Pluto’s moon Charon is about half the size of Pluto, while Vanth, Orcus’ moon, is estimated to be one-third the size of Orcus. The name 'Orcus' was chosen because it’s the Etruscan equivalent of the Roman god 'Pluto.'
Orcus’ surface is coated in crystalline water ice and potentially ammonia ice, suggesting past geological activity and cryovolcanism. If ammonia is confirmed, Orcus could provide valuable insights into the formation of other trans-Neptunian objects.
990. Antiope
The '90' in 90 Antiope's name indicates it was the 90th asteroid discovered, although there is some debate about this. This unusual object, which orbits in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, is a binary system—also known as a 'double asteroid.' Therefore, Antiope is technically both the 90th and 91st asteroid discovered.
Initially overlooked, Antiope was thought to be just another small object in the asteroid belt. However, in 2000, the 'Keck II' telescope in Hawaii revealed that the large single shape seen by earlier telescopes was actually two smaller bodies orbiting each other. Each body is around 86 kilometers (53 miles) in diameter, with their centers separated by only 171 kilometers (101 miles).
While it's common for two objects to orbit each other, the mass difference between the two components of Antiope is so minimal that the best way to picture it is as two spinning bowling balls connected by a piece of string.
8. Saturn’s Hexagon
We are all familiar with Saturn and its rings, but have you ever heard of its cloud formations? In the early 1980s, the Voyager mission made a shocking and unprecedented discovery, later confirmed by the Cassini spacecraft. Surrounding Saturn’s north pole is a massive hexagonal storm with sides that are longer than Earth's diameter. This storm has been ongoing for over 30 years. Strangely, the hexagon doesn't move with the other clouds on the planet, and due to its remarkable geometric precision, numerous conspiracy theories have emerged about it. (Fortunately, most are not taken seriously.)
While the phenomenon remains largely unexplained, scientists have proposed several theories based on 'fluid dynamics.' Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that in a fluid where the center spins faster than the edges, turbulence starts to form edges. At high enough speeds, polygonal shapes emerge. Since the winds in the hexagon reach speeds of 322 kilometers per hour (200 mph), sharp sides have developed. While this theory is solid, some still believe it might be a gateway to another dimension.
7. Haumea
Before it was officially named, 136108 Haumea was referred to as 'Santa,' due to its discovery on December 28, 2004. This is quite fitting, as Haumea is a highly 'gifted' and distinctive dwarf planet. Scientists initially struggled to take measurements of Haumea because of its incredibly rapid rotation, faster than any other known body in the solar system—a day on Haumea lasts only 3.9 hours.
The rotation itself wouldn't be a significant issue, but Haumea is unlike any other planet in shape. Made of rock and ice, with extremely low gravity holding it together, the powerful centrifugal force has stretched its surface into a shape known as a 'scalene ellipsoid.' This means the distance between its poles is 996 kilometers (619 miles), while its longest axis spans an impressive 1,960 kilometers (1,218 miles).
Haumea doesn't just have unique rotational properties—it also has two moons, Hi’iaka and Namaka. Quite impressive for a dwarf planet with only 6 percent the mass of our moon.
6. Pan and Atlas
These two moons of Saturn share a lot in common and are the closest to their parent planet. What makes them particularly interesting is that they seem to have replicated Saturn's rings, adopting a form reminiscent of a 1950s UFO B-movie. Pan, a 'shepherd moon,' is named after the god of shepherds, while Atlas is named after the titan who 'held the sky on his shoulders,' as it helps support Saturn's rings.
Atlas, the more flattened of the two moons, is only 19 kilometers (12 miles) from pole to pole but stretches 46 kilometers (29 miles) across its waist. The elongated equators of these moons can’t be explained in the same manner as Haumea, as they don’t rotate fast enough to cause a bulge. Rapid rotation leads to a uniform elongation, and these moons are far from typical. After running numerous simulations, the University of Paris found the solution: accretion disks. As debris spins in a disk, the edges flatten out. During Saturn’s moons' formation, dust from Saturn’s rings created accretion disks around these small moons, and the dust eventually accumulated on their equators, forming their vast, bulging ridges.
52008. KV42
Why do so many astronomical objects have such frustrating names? Fortunately, this comet was given the nickname 'Drac,' after Dracula—known for his ability to walk on walls—which is much easier to pronounce. But what does wall-walking have to do with a comet? Well, Drac was the first trans-Neptunian object discovered to orbit the Sun backward—albeit slowly, taking 306 years. (We still don’t entirely get the connection to walking on walls, either.)
While a few objects were already known to orbit the Sun backward—like Halley’s Comet—they get very close to the Sun during their orbit. Drac, however, never gets closer than about 20 times the distance from the Sun to Earth, which is equivalent to the orbit of Uranus. This suggests the comet could be the missing link between objects like Halley’s Comet and other debris in the far-flung Oort Cloud beyond Pluto, helping scientists understand their formation, which remains a mystery.
There are many theories trying to explain why Drac’s orbit is so unlike almost all others. One of the most intriguing ideas is that it might not have formed with our solar system at all—if it had, it would orbit in the same direction as everything else. It’s entirely possible that the comet was captured by our solar system from interstellar space, offering an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the cosmos. Interestingly, the subject of retrograde orbits naturally leads us to ...
4. Triton
While not exactly a household name, some of you might have heard of Triton. But there’s more to this moon than meets the eye. Holding over 99 percent of all the mass that orbits Neptune, it’s as if the grandeur of the gas giant is encapsulated in this one satellite. Discovered by the Voyager 2 probe in 1989, Triton is one of the few moons that is geologically active: it boasts volcanoes, but instead of spewing ash and lava like those on Earth, these volcanoes erupt with water and ammonia.
Slightly smaller than our Moon, Triton is unique as the only large moon in the solar system to orbit in the opposite direction. Being one of the largest moons—bigger than Pluto—it has just enough gravity to sustain a thin atmosphere. And by 'thin,' we mean extremely thin. The surface air pressure is 50,000 times less than Earth's, making it impossible to fly a kite. Yet, astonishingly, Voyager 2 captured images of clouds floating just a few kilometers above the surface.
Triton also stands out as one of the most reflective objects in our solar system, bouncing back 60–95 percent of the light that hits it. To put it in perspective, our Moon—which can cast shadows on Earth at night—reflects just 11 percent of the sunlight.
3. Cruithne
After exploring the far reaches of our solar system, let's return home to Earth and dive into the often-debated topic of our planet’s second moon. The search for this elusive satellite began in 1846, when astronomer Frederic Petit claimed to have discovered it. He suggested that this second moon orbited Earth in less than three hours, at a mere 11 kilometers (7 mi) above our surface. Since then, many astronomers have claimed to find such a moon, but no one has been able to confirm its existence—except for one strange exception.
3753 Cruithne is an asteroid from beyond Earth that orbits the Sun in exactly 364 days, creating a perfect resonance with Earth's orbit. For a brief period each year, this 5-kilometer (3 mi) asteroid becomes part of the Earth system, making its closest approach to Earth every November. Technically, it's not considered a moon, as it doesn’t stay in Earth’s orbit. But it's fun to imagine that, once a year, an alien object pays our planet a visit.
2. Siamese Moons
Janus and Epimetheus, two moons of Saturn, are known as the 'Siamese moons' because they share the same orbit, separated by a mere 50 kilometers (31 mi)—less than the radius of the moons themselves. As a result, these two moons are caught in a gravitational dance that causes them to literally swap places every four years. Their unique relationship ensures they will never collide.
Initially, scientists were baffled by data that didn’t align with their expectations of the moon named 'Janus.' It wasn't until 1978, 12 years after the discovery of their shared orbit, that it became clear: Janus was not one moon, but two separate bodies. This was confirmed during the Voyager flyby in 1980. Interestingly, a faint dust ring exists within their orbit, hinting that the two moons were once a single, larger moon that broke apart, leaving behind remnants of debris.
1. Saturn’s Extra Ring
Saturn has long been known for its majestic and expansive ring system, but it wasn't until 2009 that we discovered just how far it stretches into space. That year, we found an enormous ring around Saturn, the farthest and largest band encircling the planet. This ring is tilted at a 27-degree angle from Saturn's main rings and begins about 128 times the planet’s radius from its surface, extending outward to 207 times its radius. It is so faint that it can only be detected in infrared light, but it may be responsible for the dual-colored appearance of Saturn’s moon, Iapetus.
Phoebe, one of Saturn's moons, orbits within this ring at the same angle, making it likely the source of the material. Dust from Phoebe drifts outward and settles on Iapetus, which orbits near the outer edge of this massive new ring. Each time Iapetus passes through this region, debris collects on its equator. Over the course of hundreds of thousands of years, this accumulation of dust has resulted in the moon’s striking two-tone appearance. The question now remains: is it black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?
