Kuiper Belt are presumed to be remnants from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The Kuiper Belt extends from about 30 to 55 AU and is prob-ably populated with hundreds of thousands of icy bodies larger than 100 kilometers (62 miles) across and an estimated trillion or more comets.
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Kuiper Belt represents an enormous, donut-shaped volume of space in the outer solar system. While there are many icy bodies in this region that we broadly refer to as Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) or trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs), they're fairly diverse in size, shape, and color.
In Depth | Hypothetical Planet X - NASA Solar System Exploration
2015年1月20日 · The mathematical prediction of a planet could explain the unique orbits of some smaller objects in the Kuiper Belt, a distant region of icy debris that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Astronomers are now searching for the predicted planet.
What is a Planet? | Planets – NASA Solar System Exploration
In the early 1990s, astronomers began finding numerous icy worlds orbiting the Sun in a doughnut-shaped region called the Kuiper Belt beyond the orbit of Neptune—out in Pluto's realm.
Gravity Assist: The Kuiper Belt with Alan Stern
2018年1月31日 · In this episode of Gravity Assist, Jim Green talks with New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern about what we’ve learned about Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 and the remarkable story of how -- against all odds -- the New Horizons team captured MU69’s fleeting shadow on Earth as the object passed in front of a distant star.
In Depth | Our Solar System – NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system extends much farther than the eight planets that orbit the Sun. The solar system also includes the Kuiper Belt that lies past Neptune's orbit. This is a sparsely occupied ring of icy bodies, almost all smaller than the most popular Kuiper Belt Object – dwarf planet Pluto.
In Depth | Haumea – NASA Solar System Exploration
Dwarf planet Haumea is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of miniature icy worlds which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
In Depth | Eris – NASA Solar System Exploration
Dwarf planet Eris is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of miniature icy worlds, which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
In Depth | Pluto – NASA Solar System Exploration
Dwarf planet Pluto is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of miniature icy worlds, which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion years ago.
New Horizons Successfully Explores Ultima Thule
2019年1月1日 · NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Ultima Thule in the early hours of New Year's Day, ushering in the era of exploration from the enigmatic Kuiper Belt, a region of primordial objects that holds keys to understanding the origins of the solar system.