VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A team of scientists that included University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an object that may clarify the origins of some comets.
The international team of researchers said the object's backward and tilted orbit around the sun marks the first discovery of its kind.
The astronomers from Canada, France and the United States said the object is tilted at an angle of 104 degrees -- nearly perpendicular to the orbits of the planets.
Composed of icy rock, 2008 KV42 is roughly 31 miles across and at present 35 times farther from the sun than Earth.
The team made the discovery using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, with follow-up observations provided by the U.S.-built multiple mirror telescope in Arizona, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory's 4-meter telescope in Chile and the Gemini South telescope, also in Chile, in which Canada is a partner.
"Having quick access to the MMT and Gemini South telescopes … was critical here," said Gladman. "Given the highly unusual orbit, the object would have been lost without the rapid tracking from these large telescopes."
