Artist's rendering of the Kuiper Belt and more distant Oort cloud.

The Kuiper belt (pronounced /ˈkaɪpɚ/) is an area of the solar system extending from within the orbit of Neptune (at 30 AU) to 50 AU from the Sun, at inclinations consistent with the ecliptic. Image File history File links Kuiper_oort. ... Image File history File links Kuiper_oort. ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ... This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises our Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... In physics, an orbit is the path that an object makes, around another object, whilst under the influence of a source of centripetal force, such as gravity. ... Atmospheric characteristics Surface pressure ≫100 MPa Hydrogen - H2 80% ±3. ... The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ... To help compare different distances this page lists lengths starting at 1012 m (1000 million km). ... The Sun is the star at the center of our Solar system. ... The plane of the ecliptic is well seen in this picture from the 1994 lunar prospecting Clementine spacecraft. ...

Objects within the Kuiper Belt are referred to by the IAU as trans-Neptunian objects (a type of minor planet). They are sometimes also called asteroids. Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system which orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... Minor planets, or planetoids are minor bodies of the Solar system orbiting the Sun (or of other planetary systems orbiting other stars) that are larger than meteoroids (the largest of which might be taken to be around 10 meters or so across) but smaller than major planets (Mercury having a... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ...

The outer boundary of the Kuiper belt is not defined arbitrarily; rather, there appears to be a real and fairly sharp dropoff in objects beyond a certain distance. This is sometimes called the "Kuiper gap" or "Kuiper cliff". The cause for this remains a mystery; one possible explanation would be a hypothetical Earth-sized or Mars-sized object sweeping away debris. Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ... For the Roman god, see Mars (god). ...

Origins

Modern computer simulations show the Kuiper belt to have been formed by Jupiter, with the considerable gravity of the young Jupiter ejecting smaller bodies which didn't all escape completely, and also having been formed in-situ. The same simulations and other theories predict there should be bodies of significant mass in the belt, Mars-sized or Earth-sized. A computer is a machine capable of undergoing complex calculations. ... A simulation is an imitation of some real device or state of affairs. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 70 kPa Hydrogen ~86% Helium ~14% Methane 0. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Earth is the third planet from the Sun. ...

The first astronomers to suggest the existence of this belt were Frederick C. Leonard in 1930 and Kenneth E. Edgeworth in 1943. In 1951 Gerard Kuiper suggested that the belt was the source of short period comets (those having an orbital period of less than 200 years). More detailed conjectures about objects in the belt were done by Al G. W. Cameron in 1962, Fred L. Whipple in 1964, and Julio Fernandez in 1980. The belt and the objects in it were named after Kuiper after the discovery of (15760) 1992 QB₁. An astronomer or astrophysicist is a scientist whose area of research is astronomy or astrophysics. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... LCol Kenneth Essex Edgeworth (26 February 1880 - 10 October 1972) was an Irish astronomer, economist and engineer. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... Gerard Kuiper, circa 1963. ... Comet Hale-Bopp A comet (denoted by ☄) is a small body in the solar system that orbits the sun and (at least occasionally) exhibits a coma (or atmosphere) and/or a tail — both due primarily to the effects of solar radiation upon the comets nucleus, which itself is a... The orbital period is the time it takes a planet (or another object) to make one full orbit. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Fred Lawrence Whipple (November 5, 1906–August 30, 2004) was an American astronomer. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... Julio M. Fernandez (born 1954 in Santiago, Chile) is a Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, New York. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... (15760) 1992 QB1 (also written (15760) 1992 QB1) was the first trans-Neptunian object to be discovered after Pluto and Charon. ...

Name

An alternative name, Edgeworth-Kuiper belt is used to credit Edgeworth. The term trans-Neptunian object is recommended for objects in the belt by several scientific groups because the term is less controversial than all others — it is not a synonym though, as TNOs include all objects orbiting the Sun at the outer edge of the solar system, not just those in the Kuiper belt. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system which orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ...

Kuiper belt objects

The centaurs are a class of icy planetoids that orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune, named after the mythical race of centaurs. ... A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system which orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... A cubewano is any substantial Kuiper belt object, orbiting beyond about 41 AU and not controlled by resonances with the outer planets. ... In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... While a Plutino completes 2 orbits around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 3 orbits, a Twotino makes 1 orbit around the Sun in the time it takes Neptune to complete 2 orbits. ... The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by a subset of the family of trans-Neptunian objects known as scattered disk objects (SDOs). ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ...

Discoveries thus far

Over 800 Kuiper belt objects (KBOs) (a subset of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)) have been discovered in the belt, almost all of them since 1992. Among the largest are Pluto and Charon, but since the year 2000 other large objects that approached their size were identified. 50000 Quaoar, discovered in 2002, which is a KBO, is half the size of Pluto and is larger than the largest asteroid, 1 Ceres. 2005 FY₉ and 2003 EL₆₁, both announced on 29 July 2005, are larger still. Other objects, such as 28978 Ixion (discovered in 2001) and 20000 Varuna (discovered in 2000) while smaller than Quaoar, are nonetheless quite sizable. The exact classification of these objects is unclear, since they are probably fairly different from the asteroids of the asteroid belt. A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system which orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... Charon (shair-É™n or kair-É™n, IPA , Greek Χάρων) is the largest satellite of Pluto. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Artists impression by G. Bacon of STScI / NASA 50000 Quaoar (pronounced kwah·war, kwah·wor, or kwow·ur, Tongva ) [1] is a Trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... 1 Ceres (, Latin CerÄ“s) was the first asteroid to be discovered. ... 2005 FY9 (also written 2005 FY9), codenamed Easterbunny by its discoverers, is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... The title of this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... (28978) Ixion (ik·sye·un) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of < 822 km and a semimajor axis of about 39. ... 20000 Varuna (VAR oo na) is a Kuiper Belt object about 1060 kilometers in diameter, estimated from a combination of thermal and optical measurements. ... An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... For the Velvet Chain album, see Asteroid Belt (album). ...

Neptune's moon Triton is commonly thought to be a captured KBO. Triton (trye-tÉ™n, IPA , Greek Τρίτων), or Neptune I, is the planet Neptunes largest moon. ...

Orbital trajectories

KBOs are by (current) definition limited to 30-44 AU from the Sun. This is not merely an arbitrary definition but reflects a real lack of objects beyond a certain distance. However, most of the known KBOs are detected near their closest approaches to the Sun since they appear dimmer at greater distances.

Some KBOs that also periodically travel inside Neptune's orbit are in 1:2, 2:3 (plutinos), 2:5, 3:4, 3:5, 4:5, or 4:7 orbital resonance with Neptune. Cubewanos, or "classical KBOs" are in more circular nonresonant orbits, which form the core of the belt. In astronomy, a plutino is a trans-Neptunian object that has a 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. ... In celestial mechanics, orbital resonance occurs when two orbiting bodies have periods of revolution that are in a simple integer ratio so that they exert a regular gravitational influence on each other. ... A cubewano is any substantial Kuiper belt object, orbiting beyond about 41 AU and not controlled by resonances with the outer planets. ...

The belt should not be confused with the Oort cloud, which is not limited to the plane of the solar system and is more distant. This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ...

Term "kuiper belt object"

Most models of solar system formation show icy planetoids first forming in the Kuiper belt, and then subsequent gravitational interactions displaced some of them outwards into the so-named scattered disc. While, strictly speaking, a KBO is any object that orbits exclusively within the defined Kuiper belt region regardless of origin or composition, in some scientific circles the term has become synonymous with any icy planetoid native to the outer solar sytem believed to have been part of that initial class, even if it has orbited beyond the belt for billions of years. Discoverer Michael E. Brown, for instance, has referred to 2003 UB₃₁₃ as a KBO, despite it having an orbital radius of 67 AU, well clear of the Kuiper cliff. Other leading trans-Neptunian researchers have been more cautious in applying the KBO label to objects clearly outside the belt in the current epoch. The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by a subset of the family of trans-Neptunian objects known as scattered disk objects (SDOs). ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... 2003 UB313 (also written 2003 UB313) is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) which California astronomers at Mount Palomar observatory describe as definitely bigger than the planet Pluto. ...

Largest KBOs

The brightest known KBOs (with absolute magnitudes < 4.0), are: In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us. ...

In geometry, the semi-major axis (also semimajor axis) a applies to ellipses and hyperbolas. ... Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 0. ... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Clyde William Tombaugh (February 4, 1906 – January 17, 1997) was an American astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto in 1930. ... In this July, 1997 still frame captured from video, the bright star Aldebaran has just reappeared on the dark limb of the waning crescent moon in this predawn occultation. ... 2005 FY9 (also written 2005 FY9), codenamed Easterbunny by its discoverers, is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a researcher at Yale University studying the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... The title of this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a researcher at Yale University studying the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... Charon (shair-ən or kair-ən, IPA , Greek Χάρων) is the largest satellite of Pluto. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Headline text KJHFUIV ... In this July, 1997 still frame captured from video, the bright star Aldebaran has just reappeared on the dark limb of the waning crescent moon in this predawn occultation. ... 90482 Orcus (originally known by the provisional designation 2004 DW) is a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that was discovered by Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... David Lincoln Rabinowitz (born 1960) is a researcher at Yale University studying the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... This article is about the trans-Neptunian object. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... (Redirected from (28978) Ixion) 28978 Ixion (ik SIGH un, sometimes ICK see un) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of approximately 1055 km and a semimajor axis of about 39. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Deep Ecliptic Survey is a project to find Kuiper belt objects, using the facilities of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) is a program run by NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory to discover near-Earth objects. ... (55565) 2002 AW197 (also written: (55565) 2002 AW197) is a trans-Neptunian object. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chadwick A. Chad Trujillo (born November 22, 1973) is a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech researching the Kuiper belt and the outer solar system. ... Dr. Michael (Mike) E. Brown has been an associate professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) since 2002. ... Eleanor Francis Helin is an American astronomer, principal investigator of the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ... Kenneth J. Lawrence is an American astronomer. ... Palomar Observatory is a privately-owned observatory located in San Diego County, California, 90 miles (145 km) southeast of Mount Wilson Observatory, on Palomar Mountain. ... The correct title of this article is (55637) 2002 UX25. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Spacewatch is a project at the University of Arizona that specializes in the study of minor planets, and including various types of asteroids and comets. ... (Redirected from (20000) Varuna) 20000 Varuna (VAR oo na) is a Kuiper Belt object about 1060 kilometers in diameter, estimated from a combination of thermal and optical measurements. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Robert S. McMillan is an astronomer at the University of Arizona, and heads the Spacewatch project, which studies minor planets. ...

External links and data sources

• Dave Jewitt's page @ University of Hawaii
  • The belt's name
• The Kuiper Belt Electronic Newsletter
• Wm. Robert Johnston's TNO page
• Minor Planet Center: Plot of the Outer Solar System, illustrating Kuiper gap
• Website of the International Astronomical Union (debating the status of TNOs)
• XXVIth General Assembly 2006

A trans-Neptunian object (TNO) is any object in the solar system which orbits the sun at a greater distance on average than Neptune. ... For more uses of the term Pluto, see Pluto (disambiguation). ... Charon (shair-É™n or kair-É™n, IPA , Greek Χάρων) is the largest satellite of Pluto. ... 90482 Orcus (originally known by the provisional designation 2004 DW) is a Kuiper Belt object (KBO) that was discovered by Michael Brown of Caltech, Chad Trujillo of the Gemini Observatory, and David Rabinowitz of Yale University. ... (28978) Ixion (ik·sye·un) is a Kuiper belt object discovered on May 22, 2001 with a diameter of < 822 km and a semimajor axis of about 39. ... The correct title of this article is (55637) 2002 UX25. ... 20000 Varuna (VAR oo na) is a Kuiper Belt object about 1060 kilometers in diameter, estimated from a combination of thermal and optical measurements. ... The title of this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Artists impression by G. Bacon of STScI / NASA 50000 Quaoar (pronounced kwah·war, kwah·wor, or kwow·ur, Tongva ) [1] is a Trans-Neptunian object orbiting the Sun in the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. ... 2005 FY9 (also written 2005 FY9), codenamed Easterbunny by its discoverers, is a very large Kuiper belt object discovered on March 31, 2005 by the team led by Michael Brown. ... (55565) 2002 AW197 (also written: (55565) 2002 AW197) is a trans-Neptunian object. ... The scattered disc (or scattered disk) is a distant region of our solar system, thinly populated by a subset of the family of trans-Neptunian objects known as scattered disk objects (SDOs). ... 2003 UB313 (also written 2003 UB313) is a trans-Neptunian object (TNO) which California astronomers at Mount Palomar observatory describe as definitely bigger than the planet Pluto. ... The correct title of this article is 2004 XR190. ... 90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object, discovered by Michael Brown (Caltech), Chad Trujillo (Gemini Observatory) and David Rabinowitz (Yale University) on November 14, 2003. ... Triton (trye-tÉ™n, IPA , Greek Τρίτων), or Neptune I, is the planet Neptunes largest moon. ... See also Lists of astronomical objects Category: ... Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system comprises our Sun and the retinue of celestial objects gravitationally bound to it. ... Below is a list of solar system objects with diameter >500km: The Sun, a spectral class G2 star Mercury Venus Earth Moon Mars Jupiter Io Europa Ganymede Callisto complete list of Jupiters natural satellites Saturn Tethys Dione Rhea Titan Iapetus complete list of Saturns natural satellites Uranus Ariel... This is a list of solar system objects by radius, in decreasing order. ... This is a list of Solar system objects by mass, in decreasing order. ... Pronunciation of Centaurs, Kuiper Belt Objects, and other planetoids of the outer solar system Pronunciation key ... The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), which is part of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) along with the Harvard College Observatory (HCO). ... This image is an artists rendering of the Oort cloud and the Kuiper Belt. ...