Quaoar, Kuiper Belt object (KBO), computer artwork. Quaoar was discovered in June 2002, and is one of the largest known bodies in the Kuiper Belt. Thi

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Quaoar, Kuiper Belt object (KBO), computer artwork. Quaoar was discovered in June 2002, and is one of the largest known bodies in the Kuiper Belt. This is a region of the Solar System between and beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto, which contains millions of small icy bodies. Quaoar is around 1250 kilometres in diameter, just over half the diameter of Pluto. It orbits the Sun at a distance of around billion kilometres, some 500 million kilometres further out than Pluto. Many astronomers no longer consider Pluto to be a true planet, instead thinking of it as merely the largest known KBO. Quaoar was the largest KBO known until the discovery of Sedna in early 2004.

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Size: 4488px × 2669px
Photo credit: © MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 2002, 50000, artwork, astronomy, astrophysics, belt, body, comet, cometary, comets, cosmology, giant, icy, illustration, kuiper, lm60, object, outer, planet, planetary, planetoid, quaoar, rock, rocky, science, solar, space, system, universe