In the year 1951, Gerard Kuiper an astronomer, said that some kinds of comets might come from the distant regions that are even far beyond the planets. Hence after the dicovery of that region it is named as "The Kuiper Belt" after Gerard Kuiper.The Kuiper belt otherwise known as the Edgeworth–Kuiper belt is a region of our solar system that extends beyond the orbit of Neptune and is 30 to 50 AU from the Sun.
The dots in this image show the Kuiper belt region in solar system.
The orbit of Pluto, a Kuiper belt object passing through the Neptune's orbit is shown here.
Do you know?
Objects that can be found in the Kuiper belt (KBOs) can also be referred to as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
As we read earlier that the unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led the astronomers to deduce that its orbit was affected by other forces, most probably the gravitational forces of some other massive object that existed beyond the orbit of Uranus. This led to the discovery of planet Neptune. Similarly, the orbit of Neptune is also observed to be subjected to some gravitational perturbation at a smaller level. This again led the astronomers to a conclusion that their exists another planet beyond Neptune which is affecting the Neptune's orbit and for this continuous observations were made for its discovery.
Comparison of Pluto with Earth.
Do you know?
Pluto's volume is just 0.6% of Earth's volume.
Pluto was discovered in 1930. For causing perturbations in orbits of a giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune, the planet beyond it should be at least as massive as Neptune, but the size and relatively low mass of Pluto left astronomers with many unanswerable questions. This led to continue observations beyond the Neptune's orbit. Many other objects with similar composition and mass to that of Pluto were found which subsequently led to the discovery of Kuiper belt in 1992. From its discovery in 1930 to the discovery of Kuiper belt in 1992, Pluto was considered to be a planet. In 2006, IAU redefined it as a dwarf planet rather than a main planet.
Image of the hypothesized Oort cloud and the Kuiper belt.
Do you know?
Pluto is given the number 134340 and reclassified in the category "minor planets". Therefore, from now Pluto is officially called as-
134340-Pluto.
When the solar system was formed,the planets of the system swept most of the remaining debris into the sun or out of the solar system. But bodies farther out remained safe from gravitational pulls of massive , and so managed to stay safe as they slowly orbited the sun. The Kuiper Belt is assumed to contain the leftover remnants from the beginning of the solar system and can provide valuable insights into its birth. The most crowded section of the Kuiper Belt lies between 42-48 AU from the sun, and this region is called the classical Kuiper Belt.
The relative sizes of few KBOs in comparison to Earth is shown.
Because of their small size and distant location, Kuiper Belt Objects are a challenge to spot from Earth.
Two of the moons in our solar system Neptune’s Triton and Saturn’s Phoebe are thought to have come originally from the Kuiper belt.
Do you know?
Triton, the moon of Neptune has similar composition to that of KBOs and is the only moon in the solar system to have retrograde orbit. This indicates that this is captured from Kuiper belt.
In order to catch a better glimpse of these remote leftovers from the birth of the solar system, NASA has launched the "New Horizons" mission. Set to reach Pluto in 2015, the mission is to perform the observations of the most famous dwarf planet, the Pluto before continuing on with an aim to examine multiple KBOs.
The dots in this image show the Kuiper belt region in solar system.
The orbit of Pluto, a Kuiper belt object passing through the Neptune's orbit is shown here.
Do you know?
Objects that can be found in the Kuiper belt (KBOs) can also be referred to as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
As we read earlier that the unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led the astronomers to deduce that its orbit was affected by other forces, most probably the gravitational forces of some other massive object that existed beyond the orbit of Uranus. This led to the discovery of planet Neptune. Similarly, the orbit of Neptune is also observed to be subjected to some gravitational perturbation at a smaller level. This again led the astronomers to a conclusion that their exists another planet beyond Neptune which is affecting the Neptune's orbit and for this continuous observations were made for its discovery.
Comparison of Pluto with Earth.
Do you know?
Pluto's volume is just 0.6% of Earth's volume.
Pluto was discovered in 1930. For causing perturbations in orbits of a giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune, the planet beyond it should be at least as massive as Neptune, but the size and relatively low mass of Pluto left astronomers with many unanswerable questions. This led to continue observations beyond the Neptune's orbit. Many other objects with similar composition and mass to that of Pluto were found which subsequently led to the discovery of Kuiper belt in 1992. From its discovery in 1930 to the discovery of Kuiper belt in 1992, Pluto was considered to be a planet. In 2006, IAU redefined it as a dwarf planet rather than a main planet.
Image of the hypothesized Oort cloud and the Kuiper belt.
Do you know?
Pluto is given the number 134340 and reclassified in the category "minor planets". Therefore, from now Pluto is officially called as-
134340-Pluto.
When the solar system was formed,the planets of the system swept most of the remaining debris into the sun or out of the solar system. But bodies farther out remained safe from gravitational pulls of massive , and so managed to stay safe as they slowly orbited the sun. The Kuiper Belt is assumed to contain the leftover remnants from the beginning of the solar system and can provide valuable insights into its birth. The most crowded section of the Kuiper Belt lies between 42-48 AU from the sun, and this region is called the classical Kuiper Belt.
The relative sizes of few KBOs in comparison to Earth is shown.
Because of their small size and distant location, Kuiper Belt Objects are a challenge to spot from Earth.
Two of the moons in our solar system Neptune’s Triton and Saturn’s Phoebe are thought to have come originally from the Kuiper belt.
Do you know?
Triton, the moon of Neptune has similar composition to that of KBOs and is the only moon in the solar system to have retrograde orbit. This indicates that this is captured from Kuiper belt.
In order to catch a better glimpse of these remote leftovers from the birth of the solar system, NASA has launched the "New Horizons" mission. Set to reach Pluto in 2015, the mission is to perform the observations of the most famous dwarf planet, the Pluto before continuing on with an aim to examine multiple KBOs.
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