2012 VP113

aka Sheppard's or Sheppard's Ball

Pre Astro

On March 26, 2014, astronomers announced the discovery of another dwarf planet in a highly eccentric orbit like Sedna. Designated 2012 VP113, the object comes no closer than 80 AUs to the Sun but ranges out as far as 452 AUs, and so like Sedna, VP113 can be considered to be a member of the "inner Oort Cloud " (which can be defined between 50 and 1,500 AUs from our Sun, Sol, as objects further out will be perturbed into long-period comets by the passing of neighboring stars). Based on its current distance, brightness and presumed albedo (or ability to reflect light), VP113 is likely to be around 280 miles (or 450 kilometers) wide, which would be around half the diameter of Sedna (NASA news release; astronomer Scott S. Sheppard's web page on 2012 VP113; and Trujillo and Sheppard, 2014). VP113 is large enough to have a spherical shape and so is a candidate for IAU designation as a dwarf planet, as defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on August 24, 2006.

After the ascent
During the  United Earth -  Detailed Solar System Survey of 2111  - the existence of  VP113  is confirmed and in 2112 OTT physically surveyed.

VP113 designation was changed to "Sheppard's Ball" and is known today simply as "Sheppard's". The world was immideatly claimed by United Earth military for system defense purposes.

After 2220 OTT it became a SOL Defense world, with a Interceptor fighter base. It remains a fighter base and is home to the SOL Defense Academy.