Question

The astronomer who discovered the dwarf planet Eris suggests there might be another object far beyond the Kupier belt. If this Planet X exists, it would be about 10 times the mass of Earth and 2-3 times the size of Earth, putting it in the ice giant category, and have an orbit with a semi-major axis of 700 AU. You can read more about this object on NASA's page. If this object exists, what would we classify it as?

Answer 1

These objects would be classified as extreme trans Neptunian object (ETNO).

Step-by-step explanation:

ETNO’s are the objects lying beyond the planet Neptune and orbiting the Sun. They follow a highly eccentric path which is tilted. ETNO has been grouped into three major according to their respective perihelia.

Within this region (beyond Neptune’s orbit), a hypothetical planet has been discovered. It was discovered following its gravitational effect on the other objects of Kuiper Belt (region beyond the orbit of the Neptune- the last planet of our Solar system)

The Planet is assumed to be around 2 times the Earth’s size and around 10 times heavier than Earth.