Pluto and the Kuiper Belt

Earth Science - Middle School

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Some images courtesy of NASA, ESA & STScl. Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Up until 2006, Pluto was considered the ninth planet from the Sun. After intensive studies, a group of international astronomers concluded that Pluto was actually a dwarf planet in a region called the Kuiper Belt. Asteroids and other planetesimals are found in this far distant region of our solar system. The Kuiper Belt is a disc-shaped region of icy objects beyond the planets, extending from the orbit of Neptune to billions of kilometers from our Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt but it is far larger. Pluto and Eris are the best known of these icy worlds. There may be hundreds more of these ice dwarfs out there. The Kuiper Belt and the even more distant Oort cloud are believed to be the home of comets that orbit our Sun. Pluto Pluto and its moons Kuiper belt Pluto & th e Kuiper Belt © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 94-4584 Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources. Charon
Why is Pluto no longer considered a planet? _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Pause and Review Label the parts of our solar system; Earth, Mars, Saturn, Mercury, Pluto, Venus, Sun, Asteroid belt, Uranus, Jupiter, Pluto, Kuiper belt . Pluto & th e Kuiper Belt © Copyright NewPath Learning. All Rights Reserved. 94-4584 Visit www.newpathlearning.com for Online Learning Resources.