OTD In Space - August 30: Discovery Of The 1st Kuiper Belt Object
- 8 months ago
On Aug. 30, 1992, astronomers spotted an object orbiting the sun beyond Pluto for the very first time.
Before then, Pluto was believed to be the most distant planetary body of our solar system. No one had seen anything orbiting farther out because these so-called Trans-Neptunian objects were far too faint to detect with the technology they had at the time. With new digital imaging techniques, astronomers were able to spot a new and tiny world orbiting 4 billion miles beyond Neptune. Officially designated 1992 QB1, this 100-mile-wide (160 kilometers) object was thousands of times fainter than Pluto. Now astronomers have confirmed more than two thousand objects orbiting out there in what is now known as the Kuiper Belt.
Before then, Pluto was believed to be the most distant planetary body of our solar system. No one had seen anything orbiting farther out because these so-called Trans-Neptunian objects were far too faint to detect with the technology they had at the time. With new digital imaging techniques, astronomers were able to spot a new and tiny world orbiting 4 billion miles beyond Neptune. Officially designated 1992 QB1, this 100-mile-wide (160 kilometers) object was thousands of times fainter than Pluto. Now astronomers have confirmed more than two thousand objects orbiting out there in what is now known as the Kuiper Belt.