What is the Kuiper Belt? Astronomer revealed the secret of minor planets
The Kuiper belt (sometimes also called the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt) is a region of the Solar System from the orbit of Neptune (30 AU from the Sun) to a distance of about 55 AU. e. from the Sun.
Although the Kuiper belt is similar to the asteroid belt, it is about 20 times wider and 20-200 times more massive than the latter. Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies, that is, material left over from the formation of the Solar System.
Unlike asteroid belt objects, which are mainly composed of rocks and metals, Kuiper belt objects (KBL) are composed mainly of volatile substances (called ices) such as methane, ammonia and water.
This region of near space is home to at least four dwarf planets: Pluto, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris. In addition, some moons of the planets of the solar system, such as Neptune’s moon Triton and Saturn’s moon Phoebe, are also believed to have originated in this area.