What is Kuiper belt?

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What is Kuiper belt?

The Kuiper belt is the solar system's objects spread from the orbit of Neptune (about 30 AU) to 44 AU from the Sun, orbits close to the zodiacal plane.

The objects in the Kuiper belt are referred to by the IAU as bodies outside Neptune may have a shape similar to asteroids.

The outer boundary of the Kuiper belt is not arbitrarily defined. On the contrary, there seems to be a clear and realistic decline in the density of celestial bodies outside the selected range. Sometimes it is referred to as "Kuiper" hole or "Kuiper wall". The reason for these names is a secret, one of the possible explanations may be due to the theory that there are similar bodies of size like Earth or Mars that run through fragments.

The outer boundary of the Kuiper belt is not arbitrarily defined.

The Kuiper belt consists of fragments, similar to the asteroid belt , but is made up primarily of ice and wider, and is located farther from the middle of the 30AU and 50 AU from the Sun, ie Starting from Neptune back out. This region is believed to be the origin of short-term comets, such as Halley's comet. Although it is estimated that there are about 70,000 objects in the Kuiper belt with a diameter greater than 100km, the total mass of the Kuiper belt is still very small, perhaps equal to or slightly larger than the Earth's mass. Many objects in the Kuiper belt have orbit outside the zodiacal plane.

Pluto, the smallest "former planet" in the Solar System, is considered part of the Kuiper belt. Like other objects in the belt, it has an eccentric orbital trajectory that is 17 degrees above the zodiacal plane and ranges from 29.7 AU at the close to 49,5 AU at the far-sighted point.

Objects of the Kuiper belt with orbit similar to Pluto are called Pluto-like objects . Other objects with similar orbits are also grouped. The remaining objects of the Kuiper belt with more "traditional" orbits are categorized as Cubewanos (or the traditional outer body of Neptune).

Kuiper belt has a very clear void. At a distance of 49 AU to the Sun, the number of objects observed decreased, creating "Kuiper Cliff" and its cause is unknown. Some argue that something must exist outside the perimeter and big enough to wipe out any remaining debris, perhaps as big as Earth or Mars. However, this view is still controversial.

The origin of the Kuiper belt

Modern computer simulations indicate that the Kuiper belt was created by Jupiter, thanks to its large gravitational force to maintain small bodies that cannot completely escape the solar system. , as well as in-situ objects (in-situ). Such simulations and other theories predict that there may be bodies of considerable mass within the Earth-like belt.

The first astronomers hypothesized the existence of this belt was the American astrophysicist Frederick C. Leonard 1930 and Kenneth E. Edgeworth in 1943. In 1951, the American astronomer Netherlands Gerard Kuiper assumes that celestial bodies do not exist in the belt anymore.

Kuiper belt bodies

Over 8000 Kuiper belt objects (a subset of objects outside Hai Vuong Tinh) have been discovered in this belt, nearly all of them have been discovered since 1992 onwards. Among the largest celestial bodies are Pluto and Charon, but since 2000 other large celestial bodies are as large as they have been identified. 50000 Quaoar, discovered in 2002, is a KBO, about half the size of Pluto and bigger than the largest known asteroid 1 Ceres.

The Neptune Triton satellite is generally considered a captured KBO.

While 2005 FY9 and 2003 EL61 were two bodies announced on July 29, 2005, even larger. Other celestial bodies, such as 28978 Ixion (discovered in 2001) and 20000 Varuna (discovered in 2000) are smaller than Quaoar, but are also significant in size. The exact classification of these celestial bodies is unclear, but it is clear that they are significantly different from the asteroids of the asteroid belt.

The term "Kuiper belt object"

Most models of solar system formation indicate that the first frozen asteroids were formed in the Kuiper belt, and then due to gravitational interactions, moving some of them out into the area. Areas called scattered disks.

While correctly speaking, KBO is any celestial body that orbits only the Sun on orbits within the Kuiper belt that predetermined, regardless of the origin or composition, in some groups. Scientists in this term are synonymous to the asteroids originating from the outer edge of the solar system, which are believed to be part of the original layer, even if they were turned. around the Sun outside this belt for billions of years.

For example, Michael E. Brown's discovery mentioned 2003 UB313 as KBO, although it has an orbit radius of 67 AU, it is clearly outside the Kuiper belt. The leading searchers for outer bodies of Neptune are very cautious in applying KBO marks to objects that are clearly outside the Kuiper belt in the current century.