The orbit of the newly discovered solar system object
SQ372 (blue), in comparison to the orbits of Neptune, Pluto,
and Sedna (white, green, red). The
location of the Sun is marked by the yellow dot at the center.
The inset panel shows an expanded view, including the orbits
of Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter inside the orbit of Neptune.
Even on this expanded scale, the size of Earth's orbit would
be barely distinguishable from the central dot.
Credit: N. Kaib.
Animation showing the detection of SQ372 by
SDSS-II. Successive frames show images from the SDSS-II
supernova survey taken on October 21, 23, and 28, 2006.
SQ372 changes position as it moves in its orbit, while
the positions of the stars, which are much more distant,
stay fixed.
Credit: A. Becker and the SDSS.