Kuiper Belt Objects

Kuiper Belt Objects

This discussion will focus on Question 17, “The objects Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar orbit?” My choice was “beyond the orbit of Neptune.” Astronomers have discovered many icy bodies that orbit beyond Neptune. They are believed to have been left over from the formation of the outer solar system. These objects, Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar, differ in size. They orbit the sun in the Kuiper belt.

The Kuiper belt is a region beyond the orbit of Neptune where dwarf planets and other celestial bodies are found. Eris, which is 27 percent bigger than Pluto in size, orbits beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is considered to be one of the Kuiper belt objects (Starr, 2019). Eris has one moon known as Dysnomia, which is much smaller than Eris itself. Pluto, Eris, and Ceres are considered dwarf planets because they are large enough to pull themselves to a sphere but have not cleared other bodies near their orbit. Additionally, Sedna, Orcus, and Quaoar are also Kuiper belt objects. They are half the size of Pluto (Seeds & Backman, 2018). Sedna orbits the furthest from the sun because it has an elongated and distant orbit. Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar are made of water ice, methane ice, and some rocky material. These icy bodies are believed to have been formed around the same time as the planets. Like other planets, the icy bodies have not cleared the neighborhood around their orbits.

Eris, Sedna, and Quaoar orbit beyond the orbit of Neptune. They are considered the Kuiper belt objects. These objects are not considered as planets.

Notably, the module covers extensively the solar system. It has knowledge of other celestial bodies found in the solar system apart from the planets. The module questions help to track the level of understanding of the topic.

References

Seeds, M. A., Backman, D. (2018). ASTRO 3: Introductory astronomy. Cengage Learning.

Starr, M. (2019, August 26). NASA administrator says Pluto is still a planet, and things are getting heated: ScienceAlert. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-administrator-jim-bridenstine-says-pluto-is-a-planet

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Kuiper Belt Objects

Discuss one or more questions from Module 6 Questions and why you answered them the way you did.
Include other interesting remarks about the module
Discuss NASA Administrator Says Pluto Is Still a Planet, and Things Are Getting Heated
https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-administrator-jim-bridenstine-says-pluto-is-a-planet

Instructions

• Each set of questions is titled with information including the associated material.
• The questions approximately follow the order of the topics in the lecture.
• Open and use any interactive animation links preceding some questions.
• Answer the specified questions associated with each lecture. Save the document and use it to study for the Module Quiz.

The objects Eris, Sedna, and Quoar orbit.  D

1. 1. between Mars and Jupiter
   2. between the Earth and its Moon.
   3. inside the orbit of the planet Saturn
   4. beyond the orbit of Neptune