Salacia: a dwarf planet sharing Pluto's path

Space
Salacia: a dwarf planet sharing Pluto's path

Salacia, a dwarf planet candidate in the Kuiper Belt, orbits in a special rhythm with Neptune, sharing this stable path with Pluto and other distant icy worlds.

Meet Salacia, a large icy body in the distant Kuiper Belt, classified as a dwarf planet candidate. Discovered in 2004, this 846-kilometer-wide object is special because it shares a unique orbital dance with Neptune, just like Pluto. For every three orbits Neptune completes, Salacia finishes two, a stable 3:2 resonance that protects it from Neptune's gravitational pull.

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