Gonggong

Gonggong — dwarf planet, shown live in Cosmoscope, a real-time 3D map of the universe.

One of the reddest large bodies known, slathered in tholins and possibly old water-ice frost. Named for a Chinese water god with a serpent’s tail — fittingly, its moon is named for that serpent.

Radius
~615 km
Discovered
2007
Year
~552 Earth years
Distance
34–101 AU
Moon
Xiangliu
Region
Scattered disc

Seeing Gonggong in real time

Cosmoscope puts Gonggong at its true position in the solar system, computed from JPL-derived ephemeris and updated continuously. Open the live 3D view to see, in real time, how far Gonggong is from the Sun and from Earth right now, how many minutes or hours light takes to cross that gap, and how fast it is moving along its orbit. Scrub the timeline to place Gonggong where it was on any past date, or where it will be years from now.

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