They are thought to come from the Kuiper Belt or from the so-called scattered disc, a dynamic zone created by the outward motion of Neptune that contains many icy objects
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration
The Kuiper Belt is one of the largest structures in our solar system – others being the Oort Cloud, the heliosphere, and the magnetosphere of Jupiter. Its overall shape is like a puffed-up disk or donut.
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.
New Horizons Spacecraft Homing in on Kuiper Belt Target
2018年12月31日 · After a 13-year journey, the piano-sized spacecraft has covered a distance of four billion miles to reach Ultima Thule in the Kuiper Belt — a donut-shaped region of ancient, rocky bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune.
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.
Hubble to Conduct Largest-Ever Survey of Kuiper Belt
2019年4月2日 · The Kuiper Belt is a distant reservoir of ancient material that lies at the edge of our solar system, beyond all the terrestrial and giant planets. At the present time, the properties of the Kuiper Belt’s unique population of binary systems can …
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.
In Depth | Triton – NASA Solar System Exploration
Scientists think Triton is a Kuiper Belt Object captured by Neptune's gravity millions of years ago. It shares many similarities with Pluto, the best known world of the Kuiper Belt. Like our own moon, Triton is locked in synchronous rotation with Neptune―one side faces the planet at all times.
All About Ultima: New Horizons Flyby Target is Unlike Anything …
2018年12月26日 · The Kuiper Belt lies in the so-called "third zone" of our solar system, beyond the terrestrial planets (inner zone) and gas giants (middle zone). This vast region contains billions of objects, including comets, dwarf planets like Pluto and "planetesimals" like Ultima Thule.