30–55 AU
DISTANCE FROM SUN
MILLIONS
ESTIMATED OBJECTS
~165 YEARS
PLUTO'S ORBITAL PERIOD
~4.6 BILLION YEARS
AGE
PLUTO
FAMOUS DWARF PLANET
NEPTUNE ↔ OUTER SYSTEM
LOCATION
THE ICY FRONTIER
The Kuiper Belt is a vast region of
the Solar System beyond the orbit of
Neptune.
It contains millions of icy bodies,
including dwarf planets, comets and
other trans-Neptunian objects.
Pluto is one of the most famous
objects in the Kuiper Belt. Other
important worlds include Eris, Haumea,
Makemake and Quaoar.
The objects of the Kuiper Belt are
made largely of frozen materials such
as water ice, methane and ammonia,
mixed with rock and complex organic
compounds.
Because these objects formed far from
the Sun and have remained extremely
cold, many preserve material from the
early Solar System.
The Kuiper Belt is also an important
source of short-period comets that can
enter the inner Solar System.
KUIPER BELT FEATURES
PLUTO
Pluto is one of the best-known Kuiper
Belt objects and was reclassified as
a dwarf planet in 2006.
ICY WORLDS
The region contains enormous numbers
of frozen bodies made from ice,
rock and complex materials.
ANCIENT MATERIAL
Kuiper Belt objects preserve some of
the most primitive material remaining
from the formation of our Solar System.
DID YOU KNOW?
Pluto takes about 248 Earth years
to complete a single orbit around
the Sun.
VISUALIZATION:
NASA / ESA / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
ORBONIX · SOLAR SYSTEM
ORBONIX · SOLAR SYSTEM