Tag Archives: Kuiper Belt

 New Horizons: Exploring Pluto and Beyond

Hello (again), and welcome (back) to my Astronomy Blog! Today we’re picking up where we left off with Pluto and the New Horizons mission.  The New Horizons Mission Although NASA approved the mission in 2001, the New Horizons mission officially entered the public conscience when the craft was launched on January 19th, 2006. The speedy […] Continue reading

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The Outer Solar System

For this blog post, I’m going to be taking you on a journey through the outer solar system, beginning with what’s usually the last stop on the tour: Pluto. Pluto, formerly a planet, is now classified as a dwarf planet, orbiting at a distant 39 AU from the Sun in the dim outer reaches of […] Continue reading

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Blog Post 5: Ultima Thule

Most people have New Years goals of going to the gym more or spending more time with their family. The New Horizons team had a New Years goal to capture a clear image of Ultima Thule, the furthest known Kuiper belt object at that time, on a New Years flyby. Most people will look at […] Continue reading

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The Kuiper Belt: Exploring New Horizons

Hello (again), and welcome (back) to my Astronomy Blog! Today’s post is about the Kuiper Belt and its objects.  What is the Kuiper Belt?  The Kuiper (Kai-per) Belt is a donut-shaped region beyond the orbit of Neptune. Within the Kuiper Belt, it is estimated that millions of icy objects (or even trillions of these objects, […] Continue reading

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Blog 5: Comets

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?

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)

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 ☄️

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

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

               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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