• The Kuiper belt is a great ring of debris, like the asteroid belt, but it consists mainly of objects composed primarily of ice and rocks.
  • It extends between 30 and 50 AU from the Sun.
  • Nptable Objects in Kuiper Belts
    • Pluto: Pluto was once considered the ninth planet in our solar system, but was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. Pluto (39 AU) is the largest known object in the Kuiper belt, and Charon is Pluto’s largest moon.
    • Eris: Another dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, Eris is similar in size to Pluto and played a role in redefining the criteria for classifying celestial bodies.
    • Haumea, Makemake, and Quaoar: These are other notable dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt.
    • Ultima Thule (486958 Arrokoth): This is a KBO visited by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2019, providing valuable data about the region.

 

Source: The Hindu

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