Introduction
Gerard Kuiper in 1951 argued that the rotating disk of dust and gas ("solar nebula") from which the planets condensed probably did not end abruptly with the relatively large mass of Neptune. Instead, it was possible that at the rarefied outer edge, material did not condense into single large planets but into many small ones.
He turned out to have been right, but it was only in 1992 that the first "Kuiper Belt" object was found--or rather, the first one outside Pluto, which today is considered part of the belt too. That was when David Jewitt and Jane Luu discovered "1992 QB1" with diameter of 200 or 250 kilometers (see "The Kuiper Belt" by Luu and Jewitt, Scientific American, May 1996, p. 47-52). The size of that dwarf planet was fairly typical for the belt, though many are bigger (see here) and at least one seems bigger then Pluto, too (see also here). Most orbit near the ecliptic, showing they came from the solar nebula--though an appreciable scatter of inclinations exist.
By 1996, over 30 such objects were observed, and as of November, 2007, over 1000 (also see here). Many are locked in a 2:3 resonance the way Pluto is (those have been dubbed "Plutinos") and others display different resonances, all factors helping stability.
NASA launched in January 2006 a "New Horizons" spacecraft to fly by Pluto in July, 2015 and to pass at least one Kuiper belt object at a later date.
External Links
- Kuiper Belt - NASA - Solar System Exploration.
- New Horizons Pluto Kuiper Belt Flyby - NASA, National Space Science Data Center.
NASA Solar System Exploration - Kuiper Belt Resources:
- Quaoar Discovery Announcement (Quaoar is a frozen world located in what is known as the Kuiper Belt) CalTech announcement. See also Wikipedia-link.
- University of Hawaii's Kuiper Belt Page - by David Jewitt.
- The Planets: Kuiper Belt - "The
NineEight Planets, A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System: one star, eight planets, and more." by Bill Arnett - New Horizons Mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt - NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission.
- "Hubble Identifies a Long-Sought Population of Comets Beyond Neptune" - HubbleSite News Center
- Down to Earth Astronomy - Space Telescope Science Institute
Preview Image
"Largest known Kuiper Belt objects." The Kuiper Belt, extending out to about 50 AU around the Sun, is populated with thousands of small icy bodies. (Source/Credit: NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI).)
Disclaimer: This article is taken wholly from, or contains information that was originally published by, David P. Stern - "Educational Web Sites on Astronomy, Physics, Spaceflight and the Earth's Magnetism." Topic editors and authors for the Encyclopedia of the Cosmos may have edited its content or added new information. The use of information from David P. Stern should not be construed as support for, or endorsement by, that David P. Stern for any new information added by EoC personnel, or for any editing of the original content. The EoC has a specific working relationship with David P. Stern, and any changes to any of his content is to be done only with his approval or the approval of those appointed by him to represent his interests in this content.
Citation
Stern, David, D.Sc. (Contributing Author); Bernard Haisch (Topic Editor). 2008. "Kuiper Belt." In: Encyclopedia of the Cosmos. Eds. Bernard Haisch and Joakim F. Lindblom (Redwood City, CA: Digital Universe Foundation). [First published March 5, 2008].
<http://www.cosmosportal.org/articles/view/135826/>
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