Farout

2018 VG18 is a distant trans-Neptunian object that was discovered well beyond 100 AU (15 billion km) from the Sun. It was first observed on 10 November 2018 by astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo during a search for distant trans-Neptunian objects whose orbits might be gravitationally influenced by the hypothetical Planet Nine. They announced their discovery on 17 December 2018 and nicknamed the object "Farout" to emphasize its distance from the Sun.

2018 VG18 is the second-most distant natural object ever observed in the Solar System, after the trans-Neptunian object "FarFarOut" (≈140 AU) discovered by the same team in 2019. As of 2020 the object is at an observed distance of 123.5 AU (18 billion km) from the Sun, more than three times the observed distance of the dwarf planet Pluto. 2018 VG18 is not close to being the object with the most distant orbit on average, as its orbital semi-major axis is estimated to be only about 81 AU. For comparison, the semi-major axis of the planetoid 90377 Sedna is about 480 AU.

2018 VG18 is considered to be a dwarf planet candidate, as its absolute magnitude implies that it is around 500 km (310 mi) in diameter. Assuming that the object is predominantly icy in composition, it is expected to be large enough to attain a gravitationally rounded shape, and thus be a dwarf planet. Observations of 2018 VG18 show that it appears pinkish in color, indicative of an ice-rich surface.