Dwarf Planets and Asteroids

Abstract

Since Pluto’s discovery in 1930, there has been controversy over whether it should be considered a planet. In more recent years, the improved optics of larger telescopes and the advent of space-based telescopes that escape the distorting effects of Earth’s atmosphere have led to the discovery of more objects roughly the size of Pluto in the same area of our Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. This region extends from the orbit of Neptune, which is about 30 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun, to about 55 AU and contains many Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO) that rival the size of Pluto – perhaps as many as 200.