Questions tagged [kuiper-belt]
Questions about the circumstellar disk orbiting in the outer Solar System, beyond the orbit of Neptune.
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Would it be practical to map out the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud via Radar?
I recall reading an article where the moon, could be detected via radar and that orbiting radar satellites could map out the surface of mars, and in some cases even parts of Venus (the lattermost ...
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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 ...
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Is there an established distinction between a geyser and a cryovolcano in solar system bodies?
Is there an established distinction between a geyser and a cryovolcano in the context of cold solar-system bodies such as the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or Kuiper belt objects (e.g. Pluto)?
Both can ...
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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 ...
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Where will the frost line be when the Sun becomes a red giant and what effect will it have on the solar system?
I understand the frost line is currently about 5.2 AU and earlier in the solar systems formation was 2.7 AU. But when the Sun becomes a red giant the frost line should move outward. I understand the ...
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How and when will Sirius migrating towards the Sun trigger the movement of Kuiper belt objects into the solar system?
Currently the Sirius binary star system is moving towards the Sun at 5.5km/s for roughly the next 60 thousand years or so. At the end of those years it will be 7.8 light years away from the Sun and ...
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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-...
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How do JWST and Hubble compare in detecting small bodies in the solar system that are a) white, b) black, c) Arrokoth-like, d) Voyager-like?
Assume the object is small, spherical, and illuminated only by the Sun, and has some apparent motion. The object is either:
a) white - reflecting 100% perfectly diffusely (assume low temperature)
b) ...
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How do the giant planets excite the orbits of asteroids?
The giant planets, particularly Jupiter, are notorious for bringing about changes in eccentricities and inclinations of smaller bodies(asteroids and KBOs). Jupiter, in fact, throws almost all the ...
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If the hypothetical planet beyond the Kuiper belt exists, is it likely there are even more planets farther outside?
Since 2016 there are hints that a (probably) ice giant planet may exist far beyond the Kuiper belt. There are speculations that it may be a rogue planet captured by the Sun. But is it likely that ...
CommunityBot
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The Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud [closed]
How come the comets and asteroids in the Kuiper belt and Oort cloud are kept in a gravitational field and they don't get pushed and pulled by the planets around them? I get why comets in the Oort ...
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Where does the Solar System end?
The Sun is roughly 4 light-years away from the closest star system, the Alpha Centauri system. The planets in our Solar System, however, aren't even close to that far away from the Sun. Where does our ...
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Could stellar occultations be used to survey Kuiper belt objects?
The first hint we had as to the shape of Ultima Thule was via an occultation study using an array of small telescopes. Has anyone investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of conducting a survey ...
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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 ...
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Which KBOs would one have to merge in order to have more than half the Kuiper belt's mass?
I wonder how many and which Kuiper belt objects' masses would one have to merge so that the resulting mass is more than half the Kuiper belt's mass. The total mass of the Kuiper belt is reportedly ...
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