Alicanto was discovered by American astronomer A. C. Becker with the ESSENCE supernova survey on 6 November 2004 observing with the 4-meter Blanco Telescope from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.
With a perihelion greater than 40 AU, Alicanto is an extreme trans-Neptunian object which are practically detached from Neptune's gravitational influence.
[9][12] On 14 May 2021, the object was named by the Working Group for Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN) after Alicanto from Chilean mythology.
[7] Michael Brown's website lists it as a possible dwarf planet with a diameter of 314 kilometres (195 mi) based on an assumed albedo of 0.04.
[9][13] The value of its spectral slope suggests that the surface of this object can have pure methane ices (like in the case of Pluto) and highly processed carbons, including some amorphous silicates.