THE KUIPER BELT AND THE OORT CLOUD

WHAT IS THE KUIPER BELT?

• Early solar system remnants
• Ice and rock
• Gerard Kuiper

Where is the Kuiper Belt?

• Orbits beyond Neptune
• Includes dwarf planets (like Pluto)
• 30-1000 AUs from sun

BACKGROUND

• Discovered in 1951
• Collapse of the Solar Nebula
• Low gravitational pull

WHAT ARE THE KUIPER BELT OBJECTS?

• Orbit in Kuiper Belt
• Pluto, Xena, 2005 FY9, 2003 EL61
• 1,300
• Difficult sizes to calculate

ERIS (XENA)

• Largest known KBO
• 17,000,000 km
• 560 years
• Discovered in 2005
• 96 AUs

2005 FY9 (MAKEMAKE)

• 6,900,000 km
• 310 years
• Discovered in 2005
• 53 AUs

2003 EL61 (HAUMEA)

• 6,800,000 km
• 283 years
• Discovered in 2004
• 43 AUs

WHAT IS THE OORT CLOUD?

• Icy bodies
• 5,000-10,000 AUs
• 2 trillion
• Jan Oort, 1951

True or False?

The Kuiper Belt is made up of remnants of the early solar system.

True or False?

Neptune is a Kuiper Belt Object.

True or False?

The Oort Cloud is located 30-1000 AUs from the Sun.

Thank you!