Sedna

Sedna is a large trans-Neptunian object, which as of 2012 was about three times as far from the Sun as Neptune. Spectroscopy has revealed that Sedna's surface composition is similar to that of some other trans-Neptunian objects, being largely a mixture of water, methane, and nitrogen ices with tholins. Its surface is one of the reddest in the Solar System. It is believed to be a dwarf planet by several astronomers and is large enough to be considered one under the 2006 draft proposal of the IAU, though the IAU has not formally recognized it as such. For most of its orbit it is even farther from the Sun than at present, with its aphelion estimated at 937 astronomical units (31 times Neptune's distance), making it one of the most distant known objects in the Solar System other than long-period comets. Sedna's exceptionally long and elongated orbit, taking approximately 11,400 years to complete, and distant point of closest approach to the Sun, at 76 AU, have led to much speculation as to its origin. The Minor Planet Center currently places Sedna in the scattered disc, a group of objects sent into highly elongated orbits by the gravitational influence of Neptune. However, this classification has been contested, as Sedna never comes close enough to Neptune to have been scattered by it, leading some astronomers to conclude that it is in fact the first known member of the inner Oort cloud. Others speculate that it might have been tugged into its current orbit by a passing star, perhaps one within the Sun's birth cluster, or even that it was captured from another star system. Another hypothesis suggests that its orbit may be evidence for a large planet beyond the orbit of Neptune. Astronomer Michael E. Brown, co-discoverer of Sedna and the dwarf planets Eris, Haumea, and Makemake, believes it to be the most scientifically important trans-Neptunian object found to date, as understanding its unusual orbit is likely to yield valuable information about the origin and early evolution of the Solar System.

Terraforming[]

To terraform Sedna, it will have to take on a partial atmospheric change due to its elongated orbit. Sedna will not be very easy to terraform because of its cold temperature. We will have to land a time probe on Pluto before we start terraforming it. While Sedna is still close in orbit to Pluto and Neptune, This heating probe for Sedna will be very easy from Pluto. We can also build machines on Pluto and Charon and send them to Sedna. Spacecraft 1 will drill its way down to the middle with an X-ray vision computer. The computer will set the middle point and locate a safe area to launch the probe to the middle of Sedna's surface. Spacecraft 1 will trap the heating resource needed. Spacecraft 2 will have an impact on Sedna. Spacecraft 2 will make a very large explosion when the probe gets ejected from the surface of Sedna. Sedna will start to have an atmosphere, but the atmosphere will not have the resources needed. Spacecraft 3 and Spacecraft 4 will be circling Sedna as moons. We will need to send a heating system that can reflect a large amount of heat to survive the heating of Spacecraft 3 and Spacecraft 4. This process will be similar to that of Proteus. The atmosphere of Sedna will now turn into an earth-like atmosphere. It could also be a good way to terraform all the large, distant objects that are in the Oort cloud. It could be dwarf worlds like Pluto and Sedna, or it could even be large, giant planets like Jupiter or Saturn with moons. This can be the way of entering other star systems like Alpha Centauri and its planets. Also, by Sedna's orbit, we can terraform Alpha Centauri b if it is not Earth-like.