All Questions
Tagged with kuiper-belt trans-neptunian-object
8
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If the hypothetical planet had a perihelion around 60 AU, would some consider it being responsible for the Kuiper cliff?
If Planet X had a perihelion around 60 AU and an aphelion in the vicinity of Sedna's aphelion (940 AU), would it be considered to be responsible for both the high eccentricities of TNO's orbits and ...
- 1,538
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Why is the Kuiper belt called like this?
Since most orbits of KBOs are highly inclined, isn't it rather a "Kuiper cloud"? Most main belt objects are also more inclined than the eight recognized planets, but not as much as KBOs (and ...
- 397
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Are there any known low-inclination trans-Neptunian objects?
All the trans-Neptunian object's orbits I know are very inclined compared to those of the eight recognized planets, and Centaur's orbits are highly inclined as well.
Are there any known Centaurs and/...
- 113
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Why isn't Eris considered a planet despite being the body of dominant mass?
The 2006 definition of a planet states that a planet is a celestial body that
(a) is in orbit around the Sun
(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it ...
- 1,236
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What does the Sun look like from Eris at its aphelion?
At its aphelion (most distant location from the Sun) the outermost-known planet Eris is about 100 times as far from the Sun as Earth. What does the Sun look like from Eris' surface? Is there still a ...
- 1,236
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Observed data: Why so many MPECs about TNOs lately?
The Minor Planet Electronic Circulars (MPECs)
for July 15 through July 18 reported an unusually high number of re-observations of known trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
These were found in the
Pan-...
- 18.7k
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2
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Is it proper to refer to objects beyond Neptune as "Kuiper Belt Objects?"
It seems to me that nowadays the more proper term is "Trans-Neptunian Object". Is there any difference between Kuiper Belt Objects and Trans-Neptunian Objects? If not, is one term preferred over the ...
- 2,673
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How many observations does it take to determine the orbit of a TNO
Several observations of a distant solar object must be taken before determining its orbit, but in the case of objects discovered beyond Neptune's orbit, just how many are required over what period of ...
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