Farout: Scientists discover most distant object in solar system

It's so far out, they're calling it "Farout."

Astronomers have discovered the most distant object in the solar system. It's about 11 billion miles from the sun and has the rather dull official name of 2018 VG18, thus the more catchy nickname of Farout.

That extreme distance places it about 8 billion miles beyond the orbit of Pluto.

The object, which will likely be classified as a dwarf planet, is about 300 miles in diameter and has "a pinkish hue," according to Scott Sheppard of the Carnegie Institution for Science, one of the scientists who made the discovery.

Farout "orbits very slowly, likely taking more than 1,000 years to take one trip around the sun," the University of Hawaii’s David Tholen said in a statement.

Sheppard added that “2018 VG18 is much more distant and slower moving than any other observed solar system object, so it will take a few years to fully determine its orbit."

More: Searching for 'Planet X,' scientists discover distant 'Goblin' object billions of miles beyond Pluto

The object was first spotted by astronomers using a Japanese telescope that's on top of Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano. The discovery was later confirmed using a telescope in Chile.

Farout was discovered by the same team that's searching for the mythical Planet 9, a yet-to-be-discovered world somewhere out there that could have a mass about 10 times that of Earth. In October, the team found another far-away object they nicknamed the Goblin since it was discovered near Halloween.

Farout is much "farther out" than the Goblin.

The announcement about Farout was released Monday by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Farout: Scientists discover most distant object in solar system