Kuiper Belt objects

E15968

Kuiper Belt objects are icy celestial bodies orbiting the Sun beyond Neptune, thought to be remnants from the early solar system and the source of many short-period comets.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf icy body
small Solar System body
trans-Neptunian object
canBe dwarf planet
composedOf ammonia ice
methane ice
rock
water ice
composedPrimarilyOf ices
discoveredBy astronomer
example 20000 Varuna
Eris
Haumea
Ixion
Makemake
Orcus
Pluto
Quaoar
Varuna
firstConfirmedDiscovery (15760) 1992 QB1
firstConfirmedDiscoveryYear 1992
hasAlternativeName KBO
hasDiameterRange few kilometers to over 2000 kilometers
hasDynamicalClass classical Kuiper Belt object
resonant Kuiper Belt object
scattered Kuiper Belt object
hasOrbitalInclination high inclination (scattered)
low inclination (classical)
hasOrbitalRegion 30 to 50 astronomical units from Sun
hasOrbitalResonanceWith Neptune
hasShape irregular
spherical
hasSurfaceColor neutral
reddish
hasSurfaceFeature crater
volatile ice deposit
hasTypicalAlbedo low
locatedIn Kuiper Belt
orbits Sun
orbitsBeyond Neptune
partOf outer Solar System
populationEstimate hundreds of thousands larger than 100 km
relatedTo Oort Cloud object
centaur (small body)
sourceOf short-period comet
studiedBy Hubble Space Telescope
ground-based telescope
thoughtToBe remnant of early Solar System
visitedBy New Horizons spacecraft

Referenced by (9)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
The Pluto Files ("Kuiper Belt")
about
Sol ("Kuiper belt objects")
gravitationallyBinds
Solar System ("Kuiper belt")
hasComponent
Solar System ("trans-Neptunian region")
hasRegion
Oort cloud ("Kuiper belt")
liesBeyond
Kuiper Belt object ("Kuiper Belt")
locatedIn
Division for Planetary Sciences ("Kuiper belt objects")
mainTopic
SOFIA airborne observatory operations
observes
Eris ("outer Solar System")
orbitalRegion

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