研究人员认为氮冰是最可能构成这一神秘星际物体的物质。
Kuiper Belt
Posted inResearch Spotlights
‘Oumuamua May Be an Icy Fragment of a Pluto-Like Exoplanet
Researchers favor nitrogen ice as the most likely material for the mysterious interstellar object’s composition.
Posted inNews
Meet Hygiea, the Smallest Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System
New observations confirm that main asteroid belt object Hygiea is round. It now fulfills all the requirements to graduate from asteroid to dwarf planet.
Posted inNews
Pluto’s and Charon’s Craters Reveal a Solar System Deficit
The New Horizons spacecraft recorded images of craters that imply an unexpected dearth of small objects in the Kuiper Belt.
Posted inNews
New Horizons Sends First Looks of 2014 MU69
Explore 10 things scientists have already learned about the most distant object visited by a spacecraft from Earth.
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New Horizons Spacecraft to Reach Farthest Body in Solar System Yet
The flyby of Ultima Thule on New Year’s Day will give us our first glimpse of a mysterious Kuiper Belt object.
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New Book Conveys Details and Flavor of First Mission to Pluto
New Horizons principal investigator tells Eos that the mission has revolutionized our understanding of small planets.
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Six Things Dwarf Planets Have Taught Us About the Solar System
It's been 10 years since Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet. But no matter the label, it and its dwarf planet cousins continue to stun researchers with their complexity.
Posted inNews
New-Found Dwarf Planet Points to Solar System's Chaotic Past
Astronomers have discovered an icy ball in the dark and frigid regions of the outer solar system, which they suspect harbors secrets to the solar system's formation and evolution.
Posted inNews
Comet with Stunted Tail Hints at How Solar System Formed
Finding out whether just a few or many of this newfound type of rocky object roam deep space should help scientists sort among contrasting scenarios of the solar system's infancy.