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KUIPER BELT OBJECTS
Rosemary R.
What Is The Kuiper Belt?
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The Kuiper Belt is a disc-shaped region of icy
objects beyond the orbit of Neptune.
Found by Gerard Kuiper
It contains debris from
the early creation of
the solar system.
It contains short-period
comets.
Pluto
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It was named by an 11-year-old girl who suggested the
name to her grandfather
About 2/3 of the diameter of Earth’s moon
248-year-long elliptical orbit
Can travel as far as 49.3 AUs from the Sun
A thin atmosphere is created around it when it gets close to
the sun in its orbit because its surface ices begin to thaw
It has 4 moons, but the largest
is named Charon. Charon is
so
large that sometimes they
are
referred to as a double
dwarf planet system.
Pluto and its four moons
Eris
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Discovered in January 2005 by Mike Brown, Chad Trujillo
and David Rabinowitz
Named after the Greek goddess of discord and strife
Eris was what provoked the debate on whether or not Pluto
should be classified as a planet. Since Eris is slightly bigger
than Pluto, they were both classified as dwarf planets
Largest dwarf planet in the solar
system
Has a diameter between 2,400
and
3,000 kilometers
Has an orbital period of 556.7 years
It has one satellite named Dysnomia
Object 1993 SC
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One of the brightest
Kuiper Belt objects
found so far
34 AU from the Sun
May travel as far as
48 AU (because of its eccentricity)
300 kilometer diameter (186 miles)
About a quarter of the size of Charon
Quaoar
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It is the largest object that has been found in the
solar system since the discovery of Pluto
It is about 42 AU away from us on Earth
It has a nearly circular orbit
About 1250 kilometers in
diameter
Discovered in 2002
Made of rock and ice
Orcus
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680 mile diameter (about half the size of Pluto)
Discovered in February 2004 by Chad Trujillo, Mike
Brown, and David Rabinowitz
Orbital distance varies from 30.9 to 48.1 AUs
Opposite of Pluto in its orbit
but has the same orbital period
Considered to be a “plutino”
because it goes around the sun
twice for every three times
Neptune does
Bibliography
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"Planets: Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud: Overview." Solar System Exploration. NASA. Web. 04 Jan. 2012.
<http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=KBOs>.
"Kuiper Belt." Map. The Enterprise Mission. Mike Bara. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. <http://www.enterprisemission.com/stardust.htm>.
Fitzsimmons, Alan, Iwan Williams, and Donal O'Ceallaigh. Object 1993 SC. 1994. Photograph. The Kuiper Belt. Calvin J. Hamilton. Web.
4 Jan. 2012. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/kuiper.htm>.
"Planets: Dwarf Planets: Pluto: Overview." Solar System Exploration. NASA. Web. 09 Jan. 2012.
<http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Pluto>.
Pluto and Its Moons. 2011. Photograph. Planets: Dwarf Planets: Pluto: Overview. NASA. Web. 2012. <"Planets: Dwarf Planets: Pluto:
Overview." Solar System Exploration. NASA. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. .>.
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Hamilton, Calvin J. "Kuiper Belt Objects." Views of the Solar System. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/kuiper.htm>.
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Trujillo, Chad. "Quaoar." Homepage of Chad Trujillo. Web. 04 Jan. 2012. <http://www.chadtrujillo.com/quaoar/>.
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Hamilton, Calvin J. Quaoar's Orbit. Photograph. Views of the Solar System. Web. 4 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.solarviews.com/eng/quaoar.htm>.
Hamilton, Calvin J. "Object 1993 SC." Views of the Solar System. Web. 9 Jan. 2012.
<http://www.solarviews.com/cap/comet/kuiper.htm>.
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Bacon, Greg. Orcus. Photograph. Orcus (2004 DW). Sol Company. Web. 2012. <http://www.solstation.com/stars/orcus.htm>.
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"Orcus (2004 DW)." SolStation.com. Sol Company. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.solstation.com/stars/orcus.htm>.
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Eris. 2003. Photograph. Views of the Solar System. Calvin J. Hamilton. Web. 2012. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/eris.htm>.
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Hamilton, Calvin J. "Dwarf Planet Eris." Views of the Solar System. Web. 09 Jan. 2012. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/eris.htm>.