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Pluto and the Kuiper Disk

  • Chapter
Solar System Ices

Part of the book series: Astrophysics and Space Science Library ((ASSL,volume 227))

Abstract

Only a few years ago, the outer Solar System appeared to be largely empty, inhabited only by the four giant planets, Pluto, and a smallish population of transient comets orbiting among the giant planets. Over the past few years, however, a series of rapidly-paced discoveries have dramatically transformed our understanding of the architectural landscape of the outer Solar System. These discoveries confirmed what had previously only been prescient speculation: that the outer Solar System possesses a disklike structure that contains billions of comets on stable orbits beyond Neptune, as well as tens of thousands of larger objects with diameters ranging up to at least 400 kilometers, and which orbit among the comets. This review, written in 1995, briefly summarizes recent advances in knowledge obtained about the Pluto-Charon Binary and the bodies that populate the Kuiper Disk, including a discussion of some important open issues related to these volatile-rich objects. Following this, is a discussion concerning the emerging connection between Pluto-Charon, Triton, and the population of bodies in the Kuiper Disk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southwest Research Institute, 1050 Walnut St., No. 426, Boulder, CO, 80302, USA

    S. A. Stern

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  1. Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, Grenoble/Saint Martin d’Hères, France

    B. Schmitt

  2. Observatoire de Paris, Meudon, France

    C. De Bergh

  3. Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Toulouse, France

    M. Festou

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Stern, S.A. (1998). Pluto and the Kuiper Disk. In: Schmitt, B., De Bergh, C., Festou, M. (eds) Solar System Ices. Astrophysics and Space Science Library, vol 227. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5252-5_28

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-5252-5_28

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