The
Kuiper Belt is an area of the
solar system extending outwards from the orbit of
Neptune (at
30 AU) to
50 AU. The largest of the objects are the planet
Pluto and its moon
Charon. A new Kuiper belt object, currently called 2001 KX76, has been found that is just slightly smaller, with a diameter near 1200 km. Other objects are progressively smaller. The exact classification of these is unclear, since they are probably fairly different from the
asteroids of the inner solar system.
See also Trans-Neptunian object, external Links:
- [University of Hawaii]
- [web.mit.edu]