The Kuiper Belt Sam Kojiro Terrence Tenjoma. What is the Kuiper Belt? It is a region of space in our...
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Transcript of The Kuiper Belt Sam Kojiro Terrence Tenjoma. What is the Kuiper Belt? It is a region of space in our...
The Kuiper BeltSam Kojiro Terrence Tenjoma
What is the Kuiper Belt?
It is a region of space in our solar system that stretches from right outside the orbit of Neptune to 55 AU from the Sun
This region contains countless planetoids that astronomers call Kuiper Belt Objects, or KBOs for short
Gerard Peter Kuiper
Renown astronomer Gerard Peter Kuiper proposed the existence of the Kuiper Belt
Kuiper proposed the idea of the Kuiper Belt in 1951
He also discovered Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune’s moons and also Mars’ carbon dioxide filled atmosphere
Kuiper Belt Objects
Most of the KBOs consist of rock and ice
Approximately 35,000 KBOs that have a 100 km or larger diameter
Pluto is now classified as a dwarf planet and a KBO since it
Notable KBOs
5000 Quoar- half the size of Pluto
90377 Sedna- once thought to be almost the size of pluto
136199 Eris- most massive known dwarf planet
New Horizons
Launched Jan 9 2006
It is designed to make the first close-up study of Pluto and its moons and other icy worlds in the distant Kuiper Belt.
New Horizons Cont.
February 28 2007- did a fly-by of Jupiter
July 2015- closest Pluto approach
2026- end of New Horizon’s mission
Pluto Debate
July 29 2005- KBO Eris was discovered
Eris is bigger than Pluto
Strong evidence to call Pluto a Minor Planet
Pluto Debate Cont.
2006- IAU came up with a definition of what a planet is
The object must be in orbit around the Sun.
The object must be massive enough to be a sphere by its own gravitational force. More specifically, its own gravity should pull it into a shape of hydrostatic equilibrium.
It must have cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.
Pluto Debate Cont.
Pluto failed to comply the third requirement since its orbit was tilted off of the ecliptic the other 8 planets were on causing it to cross Neptune’s orbit
Renamed to a dwarf planet
MOVIE TIME!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXoZwERokmI
Works Cited "Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt and Dust Disk." SolStation.com. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.solstation.com/stars/kuiper.htm>.
"Kuiper Belt." Universe Today. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.universetoday.com/32515/kuiper-belt/>.
"Kuiper Belt Objects." Views of the Solar System. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.solarviews.com/eng/kuiper.htm>.
"The Kuiper Belt." Windows to the Universe. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. <http://www.windows2universe.org/comets/Kuiper_belt.html>.