http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/kuiper_belt/ Read science articles on the Kuiper Belt, including the latest news on Pluto, Eris, Sedna, Quaoar and other Kuiper Belt objects. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 10:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 10:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/kuiper_belt/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719011140.htm Frigid geysers spewing material up through cracks in the crust of Pluto's companion Charon, and recoating parts of its surface in ice crystals, could be making this distant world into the equivalent of an outer solar system ice machine. The observations suggest that liquid water mixed with ammonia from deep within Charon is pushing out to the ultra-cold surface. Sat, 21 Jul 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070719011140.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070617130655.htm Aptly named after the Greek goddess of conflict, the icy dwarf planet, Eris, has rattled the general model of our solar system. The object was discovered by astronomer Mike Brown of Caltech in the outer reaches of the Kuiper belt in 2005. Adding insult to injury for the former ninth planet, Brown has now determined that Eris is also more massive than Pluto. Mon, 18 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070617130655.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322142418.htm In the outer reaches of the solar system, there is an object known as 2003 EL61 that looks like and spins like a football being drop-kicked over the proverbial goalpost of life. Still awaiting a more poetic name, 2003 EL61 largely escaped the media hubbub during last year's demotion of Pluto, but new findings could make it one of the most important of the Kuiper-belt objects for understanding the workings of the solar system. Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070322142418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070119144312.htm Just a year after it was dispatched on the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, the APL-built New Horizons spacecraft is on the doorstep of the solar system's largest planet -- about to swing past Jupiter and pick up even more speed on its voyage toward the unexplored regions of the planetary frontier. Sun, 21 Jan 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070119144312.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070118133516.htm NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is on the doorstep of the solar system's largest planet. The spacecraft will study and swing past Jupiter, increasing speed on its voyage toward Pluto, the Kuiper Belt and beyond. The fastest spacecraft ever launched, New Horizons will make its closest pass to Jupiter on Feb. 28, 2007. Jupiter's gravity will accelerate New Horizons away from the sun by an additional 9,000 miles per hour, pushing it past 52,000 mph and hurling it toward a pass through the Pluto system in July 2015. Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070118133516.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914155305.htm The International Astronomical Union has announced that the dwarf planet known as Xena since its 2005 discovery has been named Eris, after the Greek goddess of discord. Eris's moon will be known as Dysnomia, the demon goddess of lawlessness and the daughter of Eris. Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914155305.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060825003742.htm The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has downgraded the status of Pluto to that of a "dwarf planet," a designation that will also be applied to the spherical body discovered last year by California Institute of Technology planetary scientist Mike Brown and his colleagues. The decision means that only the rocky worlds of the inner solar system and the gas giants of the outer system will hereafter be designated as planets. Thu, 24 Aug 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060825003742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816082231.htm The world's astronomers, under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), have concluded two years of work defining the difference between "planets" and the smaller "solar system bodies" such as comets and asteroids. If the definition is approved by the astronomers gathered 14-25 August 2006 at the IAU General Assembly in Prague, our Solar System will include 12 planets, with more to come. Wed, 16 Aug 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816082231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060511083934.htm Triton, unique among all the large moons in the solar system because it orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to the planet's rotation, may have abandoned an earlier partner to arrive in its unusual orbit. According to a new model for the capture of planetary satellites, Triton was originally a member of a binary pair of objects orbiting the Sun before it was captured by Neptune in a three-body gravitational encounter. Thu, 11 May 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060511083934.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060424180559.htm The Binary Research Institute (BRI) has found that orbital characteristics of the recently discovered planetoid, "Sedna," demonstrate the possibility that our sun might be part of a binary star system. A binary star system consists of two stars gravitationally bound orbiting a common center of mass. Once thought to be highly unusual, such systems are now considered to be common in the Milky Way galaxy. Mon, 24 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060424180559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060417131556.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has resolved the "tenth planet," nicknamed "Xena," for the first time and has found that it is only just a little larger than Pluto. Though previous ground-based observations suggested that Xena was about 30 percent greater in diameter than Pluto, Hubble observations taken on Dec. 9 and 10, 2005, yield a diameter of 1,490 miles (with an uncertainty of 60 miles) for Xena. Pluto's diameter, as measured by Hubble, is 1,422 miles. Mon, 17 Apr 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060417131556.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060223085752.htm Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Southwest Research Institute describe the discovery of two new moons around Pluto -- a finding that made the ninth planet the first Kuiper Belt object known to have multiple satellites. The team concludes that the two small moons were very likely born in the same giant impact that gave birth to Charon. Thu, 23 Feb 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060223085752.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060111082456.htm In the not-too-distant past, the planet Pluto was thought to be an odd bird in the outer reaches of the solar system because it has a moon, Charon, that was formed much like Earth's own moon was formed. But Pluto is getting a lot of company these days. Of the four largest objects in the Kuiper belt, three have one or more moons. Tue, 17 Jan 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060111082456.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060105085757.htm Being in the right place at the right time gave a group of Massachusetts research astronomers a unique opportunity to study Pluto's largest moon Charon. The resulting measurements, to unprecedented accuracy, of Charon's size and possible atmosphere provide insight into the way this distant world may have formed. Thu, 05 Jan 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060105085757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051228103515.htm The University of Colorado at Boulder's long heritage with NASA planetary missions will continue Jan. 17 with the launch of a student space dust instrument on the New Horizons Mission to Pluto from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Thu, 29 Dec 2005 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/12/051228103515.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051031193030.htm Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to view the ninth planet in our solar system, astronomers discovered Pluto may have not one, but three moons. If confirmed, the discovery of the two new moons could offer insights into the nature and evolution of the Pluto system; Kuiper Belt Objects with satellite systems; and the early Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune's orbit. Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051031193030.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051003075911.htm The newly discovered 10th planet, 2003 UB313, is looking more and more like one of the solar system's major players. It has the heft of a real planet (latest estimates put it at about 20 percent larger than Pluto), a catchy code name (Xena, after the TV warrior princess), and a Guinness Book-ish record of its own (at about 97 astronomical units-or 9 billion miles from the sun-it is the solar system's farthest detected object). And, astronomers from the California Institute of Technology and their colleagues have now discovered, it has a moon. Mon, 03 Oct 2005 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051003075911.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050729224136.htm A planet larger than Pluto has been discovered in the outlying regions of the solar system. The planet was discovered using the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory near San Diego, Calif. The planet is a typical member of the Kuiper belt, but its sheer size in relation to the nine known planets means that it can only be classified as a planet. Sat, 30 Jul 2005 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050729224136.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050622135546.htm A detailed image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope offers the strongest evidence yet that an unruly and unseen planet may be gravitationally tugging on a dusty ring around the nearby star Fomalhaut (HD 216956). Thu, 23 Jun 2005 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050622135546.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050614002310.htm The first spacecraft designed to study Pluto took the first steps on a long journey when it was shipped to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for its next round of pre-launch tests. Fri, 17 Jun 2005 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050614002310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050507095634.htm Saturn's battered little moon Phoebe is an interloper to the Saturn system from the deep outer solar system, scientists have concluded. Phoebe was left behind from the solar nebula, the cloud of interstellar gas and dust from which the planets formed. Sat, 07 May 2005 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050507095634.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050214103330.htm The evolution of Kuiper Belt objects, Pluto and its lone moon Charon may have something in common with Earth and our single Moon: a giant impact in the distant past. Wed, 16 Feb 2005 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050214103330.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041208235835.htm Computer simulations show a close encounter with a passing star about 4 billion years ago may have given our solar system its abrupt edge and put small, alien worlds into distant orbits around our sun. Thu, 09 Dec 2004 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041208235835.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041116234001.htm Pluto's status as our solar system's ninth planet may be safe if a recently discovered Kuiper Belt Object is a typical "KBO" and not just an oddball. Astronomers have new evidence that KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects) are smaller than previously thought. Mon, 22 Nov 2004 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041116234001.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040415012813.htm Astronomers studying 35 NASA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of the solar system's farthest known object, unofficially named Sedna, are surprised the object does not appear to have a companion moon of any substantial size. Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/04/040415012813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040316072538.htm NASA-funded researchers have discovered the most distant object orbiting Earth's Sun. The object is a mysterious planet-like body three times farther from Earth than Pluto. Tue, 16 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040316072538.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030908071505.htm Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have discovered three of the faintest and smallest objects ever detected beyond Neptune. Each lump of ice and rock is roughly the size of Philadelphia and orbits just beyond Neptune and Pluto, where they may have rested since the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Mon, 08 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/09/030908071505.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030730080026.htm The world's largest astronomical camera has been installed on Palomar Observatory's 48-inch Oschin Telescope in California. This telescope has been working to improve our understanding of the universe for nearly 55 years. The new upgrade will help it to push the limits of the unknown for years to come. Tue, 05 Aug 2003 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030730080026.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/04/030410073501.htm The solar system's farthest known planetary outpost is closer to getting its first visitor. This week NASA gave The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute and their partners the go-ahead to start full development of the first mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Thu, 10 Apr 2003 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/04/030410073501.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/10/021008063710.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has measured the largest object in the solar system ever seen since the discovery of Pluto 72 years ago. Approximately half the size of Pluto, the icy world 2002 LM60, dubbed "Quaoar" (pronounced kwa-whar) by its discoverers, is the farthest object in the solar system ever to be resolved by a telescope. Tue, 08 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/10/021008063710.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020418074131.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is hot on the trail of an intriguing new class of solar system object that might be called a Pluto "mini-me" -- dim and fleeting objects that travel in pairs in the frigid, mysterious outer realm of the solar system called the Kuiper Belt. Thu, 18 Apr 2002 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020418074131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001221073121.htm NASA seeking proposals from principal investigators and institutions around the world to develop the first mission to Pluto. The announcement marks the first time the Office of Space Science has solicited proposals for a mission to an outer planet, such as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, to be selected on a competitive basis similar to the agency's Discovery Program. That program features lower cost highly focused missions with rapid development of the scientific spacecraft. Wed, 27 Dec 2000 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/12/001221073121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001030082725.htm Our solar system may have an outer "edge" just outside the orbit of Pluto, astronomers announced recently. Their results suggest that early in the history of the solar system, some event stripped away most of the planet-building material beyond 50 times Earth's distrance from the sun. Mon, 30 Oct 2000 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001030082725.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990202072542.htm The short national nightmare is coming to an end. The solar system will continue to have nine planets. "There is no plan to 'downgrade' or 'demote' Pluto," says Brian Marsden, head of the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center. "It will stay as a planet." Tue, 02 Feb 1999 00:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990202072542.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/10/981023073211.htm Planetary scientists have discovered the first circumstellar disk ever seen around a star like our sun, a star known to be orbited by a planet. The system is more like our solar system than any yet found. Fri, 23 Oct 1998 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/10/981023073211.htm