Tag Archives: Kuiper Belt

Blog 5: Comets

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Kaitlyn Lane

Comets are relatively small bodies in our solar system comprised of dust, rock, gases, and ice. They are remnants from the formation of the solar system, and their solid bodies, or nuclei, can range from a few miles to dozens of miles wide. When its orbit gets close to the sun, this nucleus heats up […] Continue reading →

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Is There a Planet Nine?

Posted on April 15, 2022 by timmyshaheen

For centuries, humans have been observing the stars and the planets searching to understand more about the sky. As our technology becomes more sophisticated, so do the problems that we try and solve. Currently, there is a cluster of extreme trans-Neptunian objects with unexplained phenomena in their orbits. These objects all complete the closest part […] Continue reading →

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Kuiper Belt Objects (woah)

Posted on April 12, 2021 by dayanel123

Was I the only one who thought that only the 8 main planets that everyone knows about + Pluto and a couple other dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets here or there were the only things that orbited our sun? Yeah well, I am very wrong, and if you thought that too, so are you :0.Continue reading “Kuiper Belt Objects (woah)” Continue reading →

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So Close, Yet From So Far ☄️

Posted on March 30, 2020 by vsli

The above image is of Comet Atlas, which is a comet that has been getting closer and much, much brighter over the past few weeks. If it doesn’t fizzle out, Comet Atlas will be able to be seen by the naked eye in as little time as a couple of weeks, at places without much … Continue reading So Close, Yet From So Far ☄️ Continue reading →

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The Real Villain in Pluto’s Demise

Posted on March 29, 2020 by avighitterman

The removal of Pluto as a planet was an emotional blow to anyone with a heart. It was a devastating betrayal leaving many asking questions that no one wanted to hear the answers to. While there were many reasons behind Pluto’s status change, the ultimate culprit is the dwarf planet Eris. Eris was discovered inContinue reading “The Real Villain in Pluto’s Demise” Continue reading →

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Hypothetical Planets in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Clout

Posted on April 7, 2019 by jacksonhubble2904

               With all the data we have on the orbits of familiar objects of our solar system, some interesting hypothesis have been formed about large bodies within or beyond the Kuiper Belt. This method of discovery was used in the 1840s to discover Neptune by studying the orbit of Uranus and noticing then compensating for … Continue reading Hypothetical Planets in the Kuiper Belt and Oort Clout → Continue reading →

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Ultima Thule

Posted on April 7, 2019 by victoriayaden

The New Horizons space probe was launched in 2006—primarily to study Pluto, but also to study Kuiper belt objects in its following years. Following the space probe’s flyby of Pluto in 2015, it reached 2014 MU69, also known as Ultima Thule, on January 1, 2019. Ultima Thule is a Kuiper belt object that orbits 1.6 […] Continue reading →

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Mystery in the Kuiper Belt

Posted on April 9, 2018 by danielsolarsystem

Though it unfortunately doesn’t come with a fun apocalyptic theory like Planet X of the 1980s, several groups of scientists are beginning to believe that there might be a ninth planet in the solar system. The pair of astronomers who proposed the existence of this mysterious planet were met with a great deal of skepticism … Continue reading Mystery in the Kuiper Belt → Continue reading →

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New Horizons Probe Halfway Between Pluto and Its Next Target in Kuiper Belt

Posted on April 4, 2017 by njelinek425

Just today, (April 4) the NASA probe New Horizons reached its halfway point between the Pluto system and its next target in the Kuiper belt, the small object 2014 MU69. 2014 MU69 is a trans-Plutonian, rather small Kuiper Belt object; with an average diameter of only about 30 miles it is only about 1% the size of […] Continue reading →

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Creation of the Kuiper Belt

Posted on April 9, 2016 by OscarBen

Recently in class we’ve been talking about the outer portion of our Solar System. Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, the disc-shaped region that begins at about 30 AUs and ends around 55 AUs. The Kuiper Belt is home to hundreds of thousands of icy bodies, an estimated trillion or more comets, and Pluto, according to… More Creation of the Kuiper Belt Continue reading →

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