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  • Warm Up Matches Start September 25 in India, Sri Lanka

    Warm Up Matches Start September 25 in India, Sri Lanka

    The ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 is just around the corner, and the warm-up matches are set to begin on September 25 across four venues in Bengaluru and Colombo. A total of nine practice games will be played over four days, featuring all eight qualified teams.

    The warm-up schedule, running from September 25 to 28, will see teams fine-tuning their strategies ahead of the main tournament, which starts on September 30 and concludes on November 2 in India. Each team will play at least two warm up matches, except Australia, who have only one fixture scheduled against England on September 27.

    The matches will be held at

    The action begins on September 25 with a clash between 2017 finalists India and England in Bengaluru, while South Africa takes on New Zealand at the same time. Over in Colombo, Sri Lanka faces Pakistan, and Bangladesh meets Sri Lanka ‘A’.

    On September 27, Australia’s sole warm-up game against England headlines the day, alongside India vs. New Zealand and Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh. The final round of warm-ups on September 28 will feature South Africa against India ‘A’ and Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka ‘A’.

    A Sneak peek into the Tournament’s Legacy

    The Women’s ODI World Cup has a rich history, dating back to 1973, two years before the men’s tournament began. The inaugural event, held in England, was a groundbreaking moment for women’s cricket, thanks to pioneers like Rachael Heyhoe Flint and Sir Jack Hayward. 

    England claimed the first title by defeating Australia in a decisive match at Edgbaston, with Enid Bakewell emerging as the tournament’s top scorer.

    Over the decades, the competition has grown significantly, overcoming early challenges like limited participation and funding.

    Australia and England have dominated, with seven and four titles respectively, while New Zealand joined the winners’ circle in 2000. The 2022 edition saw Australia triumph over England, continuing their recent dominance.

    Why Warm up Matches Matters

    The warm up matches are more than just practice , they offer teams a chance to adapt to conditions and test combinations before the main event. For newer squads like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, these games are crucial for gaining experience against top-tier opponents.

    Meanwhile, the inclusion of India ‘A’ and Sri Lanka ‘A’ provides additional competitive opportunities, reflecting the ICC’s push for deeper talent development.

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  • ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping’ Cast: Joseph Zada & More

    ‘The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping’ Cast: Joseph Zada & More

    The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping will welcome several new and already famous faces into the fold of the world based on the books by Suzanne Collins.

    The film, based on Collins’ newest prequel novel, will tell Haymitch Abernathy’s story. Haymitch competed in the second annual Quarter Quell, the 50th Hunger Games, and each of those anniversary competitions come with an added wrinkle to the Reaping. For Haymitch and his fellow tributes, there were twice the amount of children selected to compete in the arena.

    RELATED: Everything We Know About The ‘Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping’ Movie So Far

    Haymitch’s story will bridge that of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Collins’ original trilogy, introducing younger versions of many already beloved characters as well as some never seen before. Find the full cast of The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping and their counterparts from previous films below:

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  • FMC Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend

    FMC Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend

    PHILADELPHIA, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC) announced today that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 58 cents per share, payable on October 16, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 30, 2025.

    About FMC

    FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC’s innovative crop protection solutions – including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture – enable growers and crop advisers to address their toughest challenges economically while protecting the environment. FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet. Visit fmc.com to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn®.

    Statement under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: FMC and its representatives may from time to time make written or oral statements that are “forward-looking” and provide other than historical information, including statements contained in this press release, in FMC’s other filings with the SEC, and in presentations, reports or letters to FMC stockholders.

    In some cases, FMC has identified these forward-looking statements by such words or phrases as “outlook”, “will likely result,” “is confident that,” “expect,” “expects,” “should,” “could,” “may,” “will continue to,” “believe,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “predicts,” “forecasts,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential,” “intends” or similar expressions identifying “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the negative of those words or phrases. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current views and assumptions regarding future events, future business conditions and the outlook for the company based on currently available information. The forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. These statements are qualified by reference to the risk factors included in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (the “2024 Form 10-K”), the section captioned “Forward-Looking Information” in Part II of the 2024 Form 10-K and to similar risk factors and cautionary statements in all other reports and forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the above cautionary statement.

    We specifically decline to undertake any obligation, and specifically disclaims any duty, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements that have been made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

    SOURCE FMC Corporation

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  • Domvanalimab Plus Zimberelimab and Chemo Set for Phase 3 Study After Showing Efficacy in Untreated Upper GI Cancers

    Domvanalimab Plus Zimberelimab and Chemo Set for Phase 3 Study After Showing Efficacy in Untreated Upper GI Cancers

    Image by Ashling Wahner & MJH Life Sciences Using AI

    Domvanalimab in combination with zimberelimab and FOLFOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) was active with no new safety signals in patients with untreated locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ), or esophageal adenocarcinoma, according to findings from the phase 2 EDGE-Gastric trial (NCT05329766).1 In light of these findings, investigators initiated the phase 3 STAR-221 trial (NCT05568095), which is comparing domvanalimab plus zimberelimab and chemotherapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus chemotherapy in the same patient population.2

    “Domvanalimab is an [anti]-TIGIT monoclonal antibody,” Zev A. Wainberg, MD, a professor of medicine at UCLA and the codirector of the UCLA GI Oncology Program in Los Angeles, California, explained in an interview with OncLive®. “TIGIT is a checkpoint that is primarily on immune cells and blocking it leads to enhanced immune activation [and] also engages tumor-associated macrophages. The idea behind blocking TIGIT is that it works in concert with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor [such as] zimberelimab.”

    EDGE-Gastric Provides Proof of Concept for Domvanalimab Combination

    Arm A1 of EDGE-Gastric enrolled treatment-naive patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric, GEJ, or esophageal adenocarcinoma.1 Eligible patients also needed to have measurable disease per RECIST 1.1 criteria, and an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1. Patients with HER2-positive tumors were excluded. Enrollment was permitted irrespective of PD-L1 levels.

    All patients received domvanalimab at 1600 mg and zimberelimab at 480 mg; both agents were administered every 4 weeks. FOLFOX was given every 2 weeks. Treatment continued until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

    The coprimary end points of EDGE-Gastric were overall response rate (ORR) and safety. Secondary end points included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), disease control rate, and duration of response (DOR); these end points were evaluated in PD-L1 expression subgroups. Pharmacokinetic and biomarker data were also collected as secondary end points.

    At the March 12, 2024, data cutoff, findings from EDGE-Gastric presented during the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting demonstrated that the confirmed ORR among all patients who received the combination (n = 41) was 59% (95% CI, 42%-74%), including a complete response (CR) rate of 7%. The median DOR was 12.4 months (95% CI, 9.9-not evaluable [NE]).

    Patients with a PD-L1 tumor area positivity (TAP) score of at least 5% (n = 16) achieved a confirmed ORR of 69% (95% CI, 41%-89%) with a CR rate of 6%. These respective rates were 50% (95% CI, 29%-71%) and 4% among patients with a PD-L1 TAP of less than 5% (n = 24). The median DORs among patients with a TAP of at least 5% and less than 5% were NE (95% CI, 11.5-NE) and 10.2 months (95% CI, 4.0-12.4), respectively.

    The median PFS in the overall population was 12.9 months (95% CI, 9.8-13.8) and the 12-month PFS rate was 58% (95% CI, 42%-74%). The median PFS values in the patient subgroups with TAP scores of at least 5% and less than 5% were 13.8 months (95% CI, 11.3-NE) and 11.3 months (95% CI, 5.5-13.8), respectively. The respective 12-month PFS rates were 69% (95% CI, 46%-92%) and 47% (95% CI, 25%-69%).

    “EDGE-Gastric is the largest dataset [of] FOLFOX plus domvanalimab and zimberelimab in [this patient population],” Wainberg said. “[Data from] the study showed a very high response rate of 59% in the overall population, [which included] patients with a PD-L1 TAP of less than 5%. The median PFS [in the overall cohort] was 12.9 months. I believe these [efficacy] signals warrant further investigation.”

    In terms of safety, any-grade treatment-emergent adverse effects (TEAEs) and TEAEs related to any study drug occurred at rates of 100% and 98%, respectively. Grade 3 or higher TEAEs were reported at a rate of 73%, including 15% that were related to domvanalimab/zimberelimab and 59% that were related to FOLFOX. Notably, no serious TEAEs related to domvanalimab/zimberelimab occurred; overall, serious TEAEs were reported in 37% of patients. TEAEs resulting in study drug discontinuation, dose modifications or interruptions, or death occurred in 66%, 85%, and 2% of patients, respectively.

    The most common grade 1 or 2 TEAEs included nausea (59%), fatigue (27%), diarrhea (27%), and thrombocytopenia (27%). Common grade 3 or higher TEAEs included neutropenia (51%), anemia (12%), and thrombocytopenia (7%).

    In May 2025, Arcus Biosciences announced that OS data from EDGE-Gastric will be presented at a medical meeting in the fall of 2025.3

    “There have been preceding data that [showed] some activity, both with FOLFOX plus domvanalimab and zimberelimab, as well as with other TIGIT antibodies in [patients with] esophageal cancers. We have seen some preliminary activity that justifies the need for a phase 3 trial,” Sam Klempner, MD, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in an interview with OncLive®.

    STAR-221 Aims to Confirm Benefit of Domvanalimab Plus Zimberelimab and Chemotherapy

    STAR-221 is an open-label, multicenter study that is examining domvanalimab and zimberelimab plus chemotherapy in approximately 1040 adult patients with treatment-naive locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric, GEJ, or esophageal adenocarcinoma (Figure).2,4 Eligible patients must also have an ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 and at least 1 measurable lesion per RECIST 1.1 criteria. Those with HER2-positive disease, clinically significant cardiovascular disease, untreated, symptomatic, or actively progressing central nervous system metastases, or disease progression within 6 months of completion of neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy are excluded from the study.

    Patients will be randomly assigned 1:1 to the investigational or active comparator arm. In the investigational arm, patients will receive domvanalimab at 1600 mg and zimberelimab at 480 mg once every 4 weeks in combination with FOLFOX every 2 weeks or domvanalimab at 1200 mg and zimberelimab at 360 mg plus CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin) every 3 weeks. In the active comparator arm, patients will receive nivolumab at 240 mg and FOLFOX every 2 weeks or nivolumab at 360 mg and CAPOX every 3 weeks.

    “The comparator arm is an active combination, and it’s probably our best standard for this patient population,” Klempner commented. “I don’t believe there is a more active control arm that could have been [selected], so that was not a barrier to accrual. The trial is fully accrued, and we’re awaiting the readout.”

    The primary end point is OS. Secondary end points include PFS, ORR, DOR, safety, and time to first symptom deterioration according to the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Gastric subscale.

    The estimated primary completion date is December 2026. In May 2025, Arcus Biosciences announced that the first data readout from STAR-221 is expected in 2026.3

    “If [STAR-221] meets its primary end point and shows a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS, I believe [this regimen] would become the de facto standard of care in patients with newly diagnosed disease,” Wainberg said. “However, there will be some nuance in [terms of] which patients [are best suited for this regimen]. We acknowledge that checkpoint inhibitors should be used primarily in patients with a PD-L1 expression of greater than one. It will be important for us not just to prove that the study met its primary end point in the intent-to-treat [population], but also in the cohorts in which checkpoint inhibitors are the standard [of care].”

    References

    1. Janjigian YY, Oh DY, Pelster M, et al. EDGE-Gastric arm A1: phase 2 study of domvanalimab, zimberelimab, and FOLFOX in first-line (1L) advanced gastroesophageal cancer. Presented at: 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting; May 31 to June 4, 2024; Chicago, Illinois. Abstract 433248.
    2. A clinical trial of a new combination treatment, domvanalimab and zimberelimab, plus chemotherapy, for people with an upper gastrointestinal tract cancer that cannot be removed with surgery that has spread to other parts of the body (STAR-221). ClinicalTrials.gov. Updated June 26, 2025. Accessed July 15, 2025. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05568095
    3. Arcus Biosciences reports first-quarter 2025 financial results and provides a pipeline update. News release. Arcus Biosciences. May 6, 2025. Accessed July 15, 2025. https://investors.arcusbio.com/investors-and-media/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Arcus-Biosciences-Reports-First-Quarter-2025-Financial-Results-and-Provides-a-Pipeline-Update/default.aspx
    4. Klempner SJ, Shitara K, Sison A, et al. STAR-221: a randomized, open-label, multicenter, phase 3 trial of domvanalimab, zimberelimab, and chemotherapy versus nivolumab and chemotherapy in previously untreated, locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic gastric, gastroesophageal junction, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. J Clin Oncol. 2023;41(suppl 16):TPS4206. doi:10.1200/JCO.2023.41.16_suppl.TPS4206

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  • Astronomers see formation of new solar system around distant sun for first time | Astronomy

    Astronomers see formation of new solar system around distant sun for first time | Astronomy

    Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system.

    It’s an unprecedented snapshot of “time zero”, scientists reported on Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel.

    “We’ve captured a direct glimpse of the hot region where rocky planets like Earth are born around young protostars,” said Melissa McClure of Leiden Observatoryin the Netherlands, who led the international research team. “For the first time, we can conclusively say that the first steps of planet formation are happening right now.”

    The observations offer a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an emerging planetary system, said the University of Chicago’s Fred Ciesla, who was not involved in the study appearing in the journal Nature.

    “This is one of the things we’ve been waiting for. Astronomers have been thinking about how planetary systems form for a long period of time,” Ciesla said. “There’s a rich opportunity here.”

    Nasa’s Webb Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile teamed up to reveal these early nuggets of planetary formation around the young star known as Hops-315. It’s a yellow dwarf in the making like the sun, yet much younger at 100,000 to 200,000 years old and about 1,370 light-years away. A single light-year is 6tn miles.

    In a cosmic first, McClure and her team stared deep into the gas disk around the baby star and detected solid specks condensing – signs of early planet formation. A gap in the outer part of the disk allowed them to gaze inside, thanks to the way the star tilts toward Earth.

    They detected silicon monoxide gas as well as crystalline silicate minerals, the ingredients for what is believed to be the first solid materials to form in our solar system more than 4.5bn years ago. The action is unfolding in a location comparable to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter containing the leftover building blocks of our solar system’s planets.

    The condensing of hot minerals was never detected before around other young stars, “so we didn’t know if it was a universal feature of planet formation or a weird feature of our solar system”, McClure said in an email. “Our study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation.”

    While other research has looked at younger gas disks and, more commonly, mature disks with potential planet wannabes, there has been no specific evidence for the start of planet formation until now, McClure said.

    In a stunning picture taken by the ESO’s Alma telescope network, the emerging planetary system resembles a lightning bug glowing against the black void.

    It’s impossible to know how many planets might form around Hops-315. With a gas disk as huge as the sun’s might have been, it could also wind up with eight planets a million or more years from now, according to McClure.

    Purdue University’s Merel van ’t Hoff, a co-author, is eager to find more budding planetary systems. By casting a wider net, astronomers can look for similarities and determine which processes might be crucial to forming Earth-like worlds.

    “Are there Earth-like planets out there or are we like so special that we might not expect it to occur very often?”

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  • Medicine’s Lindsay Malone raises health concerns on additives in Jolly Rancher candies

    Medicine’s Lindsay Malone raises health concerns on additives in Jolly Rancher candies

    Lindsay Malone, registered dietitian and nutrition instructor at the School of Medicine, noted that several Jolly Rancher candies were banned in the United Kingdom for containing Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH), a possible carcinogen. Though legal in the U.S. under an FDA loophole, Malone raised health concerns, noting how additives—such as MOAH—are used for convenience but may disrupt gut health when consumed regularly in ultra-processed foods.

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  • Google is raising the price of Nest Aware subscriptions again

    Google is raising the price of Nest Aware subscriptions again

    Google is raising the price of its Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus subscriptions starting in August 2025.

    According to emails sent out to subscribers today, the cost of the entry-level Nest Aware service is increasing from $8 per month or $80 per year to $10 per month or $100 when paying for a full year up front. Nest Aware Plus is going from $15 per month or $150 per year to $20 per month or $200 annually. Google says the new pricing will go into effect “on your first bill that occurs on or after August 15, 2025, or at the end of your promotional period (whichever is later).” The company last increased its Nest subscription prices in September 2023.

    Google’s Nest devices can be used without a subscription, but you’ll only have access to a few hours of saved footage without either Nest Aware or Nest Aware Plus. Nest Aware includes 30 days of event-based video history. Nest Aware Plus expands that to 60 days, plus the last 10 days of 24/7 footage from supported devices.

    Both subscription tiers include features like Familiar Faces that can recognize friends and family, sound detection that alerts you when glass breaks or smoke alarms are triggered, and the option to call the 911 emergency call center nearest your home through the Google Home app while you’re away.

    Price increases are never welcome, but the new Nest Aware subscription fees are comparable to what Google’s competitors charge for advanced AI-powered features that can recognize faces and accurately describe the content of videos. Ring Home’s Premium plan is currently $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year. Arlo Plus is cheaper at $7.99 per month if you have just one camera, but for multiple cameras it’s $17.99 per month. Both Nest Aware and Nest Aware Plus support an unlimited number of devices in the same home.

    Google didn’t specify a reason for the increases, though there is a Gemini-powered camera intelligence feature for Nest Aware Plus currently available to a limited number of “select Home app users” through Google’s Public Preview beta program. The feature generates more descriptive captions of recorded camera events, such as ”the dog is digging in the garden.”

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  • NASA to Preview Advanced US-India Radar Mission Ahead of Launch

    NASA to Preview Advanced US-India Radar Mission Ahead of Launch

    With its two radar instruments — an S-band system provided by ISRO and an L-band system provided by NASA — NISAR will use a technique known as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to scan nearly all the planet’s land and ice surfaces twice every 12 days. Each system’s signal is sensitive to different sizes of features on Earth’s surface, and each specializes in measuring different attributes, such as moisture content, surface roughness, and motion.

    These capabilities will help scientists better understand processes involved in natural hazards and catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, land subsidence, and landslides.

    Additionally, NISAR’s cloud penetrating ability will aid urgent responses to communities during weather disasters such as hurricanes, storm surge, and flooding. The detailed maps the mission creates also will provide information on both gradual and sudden changes occurring on Earth’s land and ice surfaces.

    Managed by Caltech for NASA, JPL leads the U.S. component of the NISAR project and provided the L-band SAR. NASA JPL also provided the radar reflector antenna, the deployable boom, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and payload data subsystem. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Near Space Network, which will receive NISAR’s L-band data.

    Multiple ISRO centers have contributed to NISAR. The Space Applications Centre is providing the mission’s S-band SAR. The U R Rao Satellite Centre provided the spacecraft bus. The rocket is from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, launch services are through Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and satellite mission operations are by the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network. The National Remote Sensing Centre is responsible for S-band data reception, operational products generation, and dissemination.

    To learn more about NISAR, visit:

    https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/

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  • Gwyneth Paltrow unveils reason behind Ben Affleck split two decades ago

    Gwyneth Paltrow unveils reason behind Ben Affleck split two decades ago



    Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow broke up 28 years ago

    Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck had a three-year-long on and off relationship which began in late 1997 and ended up in flames despite their good chemistry.

    The 52-year-old actor disclosed the reason for their split candidly in the upcoming book, Gwyneth: The Biography, which will be released on July 29.

    Dishing on the former couple’s relationship, the author Amy Odell, wrote, “Her friends thought Ben was more of an intellectual match. But he had demons,” according to an excerpt shared by People Magazine.

    Odell continued, “Affleck was struggling with alcoholism and a gambling habit around the time he met Gwyneth. Her friends had reservations about him because he didn’t always reciprocate her affection. He at times seemed more interested in playing video games with the guys at his house than being with Gwyneth.”

    Even though the duo continued to date for a while, Odell wrote, “Her friends felt like he did not appreciate her. She would be making dinner, and he would want to go out with the guys. A friend said that Gwyneth would compare him to [the guys in] Entourage.”

    The author went on to share how the couple shared an intense chemistry but despite of that, they split up shortly after Paltrow’s movie, Shakespeare in Love, was released.

    “Their physical chemistry couldn’t overcome his self-destructive impulses,” Odell wrote, referring to the Good Will Hunting star’s struggles with alcoholism.

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  • Astronomers Discover Potential Dwarf Planet Lurking Way Beyond Pluto

    Astronomers Discover Potential Dwarf Planet Lurking Way Beyond Pluto

    Astronomers in Japan have spotted a distant object orbiting the Sun far beyond Neptune, pointing to an extraordinary event that took place during the earliest years of the solar system.

    Astronomers used the Subaru Telescope, perched atop a dormant volcano in Hawaii, to make the discovery. They observed a small object orbiting at a farthest distance of 252 AU from the Sun, in which one astronomical unit equals the average distance between the Sun and Earth. Scientists gave it the formal designation 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed it Ammonite, after an extinct group of marine animals—a nod to its status as an extreme relic of the early solar system.

    For reference, Pluto’s average distance from the Sun is about 40 AU, so 2023 KQ14 is quite distant. At 23.4 billion miles (37.7 billion kilometers) away, light reflecting off Ammonite takes approximately 34 hours to reach Earth.

    The discovery, published in Nature Astronomy on Tuesday, marks the fourth detection of a “Sednoid.” This group of distant, trans-Neptunian objects have extremely elongated orbits that stretch past the Kuiper Belt. Unlike other objects that orbit the Sun past Neptune, Sednoids are detached from the giant planet, meaning they are not influenced by its gravitational field. Astronomers discovered the first Sednoid, named Sedna, in 2003.

    This animation shows the motion of Ammonite over several hours. Credit: NAOJ/ASIAA

    Astronomers first discovered Ammonite in 2023 through Subaru’s survey project, FOSSIL (Formation of the Outer Solar System: An Icy Legacy). Follow-up observations in July 2024 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope confirmed the discovery, revealing the object’s orbit. It was also spotted in archive images taken in 2021 and 2014, allowing astronomers to simulate its orbit with greater accuracy.

    Using computer simulations, the researchers behind the discovery suggest that Ammonite has maintained a stable orbit for at least 4.5 billion years. At its closest approach to the Sun, it comes within 66 AUs from the star. Unlike its Sednoid counterparts, Ammonite currently follows a different orbit. The simulations, however, indicated that the orbits of all four known Sednoids were once very similar around 4.2 billion years ago. This puts into question the existence of the theorized Planet Nine.

    Sednoids are one of the key pieces of evidence behind the long-held theory that a massive ninth planet orbits the Sun beyond Neptune. The group of small objects follows an oddly aligned, elongated orbit that can’t be explained based on the gravitational influence of the known planets of the solar system, suggesting that a ninth, undiscovered planet may be tugging at the Sednoids.

    “The fact that Ammonite’s current orbit does not align with those of the other three sednoids lowers the likelihood of the Planet Nine hypothesis,” Yukun Huang, a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan who carried out the simulations of Ammonite’s orbit, said in a statement. “It is possible that a planet once existed in the Solar System but was later ejected, causing the unusual orbits we see today.”

    Ammonite is estimated to be between 136 and 236 miles wide (220 and 380 kilometers). Although tiny, its presence is indicative of something much larger at play. “Ammonite was found in a region far away where Neptune’s gravity has little influence. The presence of objects with elongated orbits and large perihelion distances in this area implies that something extraordinary occurred during the ancient era when Ammonite formed,” Fumi Yoshida, a planetary scientist and co-author of the new study, said in a statement. “Understanding the orbital evolution and physical properties of these unique, distant objects is crucial for comprehending the full history of the solar system.”

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