The Radial Distribution of the Kuiper Belt

2001/06/10 by Chadwick A. Trujillo, Michael E. Brown · 9 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Planetary Science and Exploration

paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/320917

openalex publication_date 2001/06/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

We examine the radial distribution of the Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) using a method that is insensitive to observational bias effects. This technique allows the use of the discovery distances of all KBOs, independent of orbital classification or discovery circumstance. We verify the presence of an outer edge to the Kuiper Belt, as reported in other works, and we measure this edge to be at R = 47 ± 1 AU given any physically plausible model of the size distribution. We confirm that this outer edge is due to the classical KBOs, the most numerically dominant observationally. In addition, we find that current surveys do not preclude the presence of a second, unobserved Kuiper Belt beyond R = 76 AU.

Citations

• The Mauna Kea-Cerro-Tololo (MKCT) Kuiper Belt and Centaur Survey

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• Origin of the structure of the Kuiper belt during a dynamical instability in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune
• Tilting Saturn. I. Analytic Model
• The Existence of a Planet beyond 50 AU and the Orbital Distribution of the Classical Edgeworth–Kuiper-Belt Objects
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• Classical Kuiper belt object [wikipedia]