| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,738,840,061 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Kuiper Belt |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
|
Kuiper belt: see comet comet [Gr.,=longhaired], a small celestial body consisting mostly of dust and gases that moves in an elongated elliptical or nearly parabolic orbit around the sun. Comets visible from the earth can be seen for periods ranging from a few days to several months. ..... Click the link for more information. ; Kuiper, Gerard Peter Kuiper, Gerard Peter or Gerrit Pieter ..... Click the link for more information. . Kuiper beltor Edgeworth-Kuiper beltDisk-shaped belt of billions of small icy bodies orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune, mostly at distances 30–50 times Earth's distance from the Sun. Gerard Peter Kuiper (1905–73) proposed the existence of this large flattened distribution of objects in 1951 in connection with his theory of the origin of the solar system (see solar nebula). Kenneth Edgeworth (1880–1972) independently had made similar proposals in 1943 and 1949. Whether the belt extends thinly as far as the Oort cloud is not known. Gravitational disturbances by Neptune of objects in the belt are thought to be the origin of most short-period comets. The first Kuiper belt object was discovered in 1992; the orbit, icy composition, and diminutive size of Pluto qualify this body, formerly considered a planet, as a giant Kuiper belt object. Kuiper Belt [′kī·pər ‚belt] (astronomy) A vast reservoir of icy bodies in the region of the solar system beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune, with diameters estimated in the 100-1200-kilometer (60-750-mile) range. Also known as Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The orbits of Kuiper belt objects also indicate a violent past. Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) like Quaoar may be leftovers from the creation of our solar system, scientists say. The new Sedna formation study used a planetary accretion code developed by Stern with funding from NASA's Origins of Solar System's Program in the late 1990s for studies of the formation of Kuiper Belt Objects. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|