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>.