`short-period-comets` Related Article Results

The Kuiper Belt is a flat ring of icy small bodies orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. Named after the Dutch-American astronomer Gerard P. Kuiper, this belt consists of hundreds of millions of objects whose orbits are close to the plane of the solar system. These objects are thought to be remnants from the formation of the outer planets. The Kuiper Belt is believed to be the source of most observed short-period comets, especially those that orbit the Sun in less than 20 years, as well