An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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A region of the → Solar System extending roughly from the orbit of → Neptune, or 30 → astronomical units (AU), to 50 AU from the Sun that contains many small icy bodies. The Kuiper belt is now considered to be the source of the → short-period comets.

Named after Gerard Peter Kuiper (1905-1973), a Dutch-born American astronomer, who predicted the belt in 1951. He is also considered the father of modern planetary science for his contributions to the study of our solar system; → belt.

A → Solar System object belonging to the → Kuiper belt. The largest known objects of this type are → Pluto and its moon → Charon, → Quaoar, → Sedna, and → Orcus. See also → trans-Neptunian object.

→ Kuiper belt; → object.