kuiper belt
A New Mission To Pluto Could Answer the Questions Raised by New Horizons
Pluto may have been downgraded from full-planet status, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hold a special place in scientist's…
Webb Detects Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen Peroxide on Pluto’s Moon Charon
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed magnificent things about the Universe. Using its sophisticated infrared optics, it has…
More Bodies Discovered in the Outer Solar System
The outer Solar System has been a treasure trove of discoveries in recent decades. Using ground-based telescopes, astronomers have identified…
The Kuiper Belt is Much Bigger Than We Thought
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is just over 8.8 billion km away, exploring the Kuiper Belt. This icy belt surrounds the…
How Many Planets Could Be in the Kuiper Belt?
A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as…
Under Some Conditions, Comets Could Deliver Organic Molecules to Planets
New research shows how comets could deliver the building blocks for life in systems with close-orbiting planets, aiding in the…
JWST Observes the Kuiper Belt: Sedna, Gonggong, and Quaoar
Using data acquired by the JWST, an international team of planetary scientists have revealed new insights about some of the…
Pluto Team Updates Science From the Solar System’s Edge
Nearly eight years after its historic Pluto flyby, NASA's New Horizons probe is getting ready for another round of observations…
The Universe is Brighter Than we Thought
At the edge of the Solar System, New Horizons has taken new light measurements of the cosmos to get a…
A Newly-Discovered (Almost) Dwarf Planet Will Come Surprisingly Close in 2031
It’s good to remember how little we know about the outer solar system. Humans only really began observing it within…