It was discovered on 10 November 2018 by Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo during their search for TNOs whose orbits might be gravitationally influenced by the hypothetical Planet Nine.

2018 VG18 is the second-most distant natural object ever observed in the Solar System, after 2018 AG37 (132 AU), which was also discovered by Sheppard's team in January 2018.

2018 VG18 was discovered by astronomers Scott Sheppard, David Tholen, and Chad Trujillo at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii on 10 November 2018.

[1][3] The discovery formed part of their search for distant trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) with orbits that may be gravitationally perturbed by the hypothesized Planet Nine.

[3][12] 2018 VG18 was first identified as a faint object slowly moving in two images taken with the 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope on the night of 10 November 2018.

[1][13] 2018 VG18's low on-sky motion and brightness indicated that it is very distant, which prompted additional follow-up observations to constrain measurements of its orbit and distance.

[3] The object was reobserved in December 2018 by Sheppard at the Las Campanas Observatory, with observation times spanning ten days.

[2] The discoverers gave 2018 VG18 the nickname "Farout" for its distant location from the Sun, and particularly because it was the farthest known TNO observed at the time.

[12] At its current distance, 2018 VG18 is thought to be close to the heliopause, the boundary where the Sun's solar wind is stopped by the interstellar medium at around 120 AU.

[12] The new orbit determination indicates that this object is currently very close to aphelion which it should reach in mid-2063,[8] and that it is a member of the scattered disc.

[10][24] Astronomer Michael Brown considers 2018 VG18 to be highly likely a dwarf planet, based on his size estimate of 656 km (408 mi) calculated from an albedo of 0.12 and an absolute magnitude of 3.9.