The Solar System - Word Search - PUZZLE #55 KUIPER BELT - August 2025

PUZZLE #55 - KUIPER BELT 

IN-CONTEXT WORD DEFINITIONS

KBOs: This is an abbreviation for Kuiper Belt Objects. KBOs are icy bodies, including dwarf planets and smaller objects, that orbit the Sun beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt. They are considered remnants from the early formation of the Solar System.

Eris: A dwarf planet located in the Kuiper Belt, more specifically in the scattered disc, which overlaps with and extends beyond the classical Kuiper Belt. Its discovery played a key role in the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet.

Makemake: A dwarf planet and KBO, also classified as a plutoid. It is known for its reddish color and the presence of methane, ethane, and possibly nitrogen ices on its surface.

Comets: Many short-period comets, those with orbital periods less than 200 years, are believed to originate from the Kuiper Belt. Gravitational perturbations from the giant planets can eject KBOs from the Kuiper Belt, sending them on paths that bring them closer to the Sun, where they become active comets.

Remnants: The Kuiper Belt is considered a vast "remnant" of the early Solar System's protoplanetary disk. The icy bodies within it are essentially pristine building blocks that were not incorporated into larger planets and have preserved information about the conditions during the formation of the Solar System.

Classical: The classical Kuiper Belt refers to a region within the Kuiper Belt where KBOs have relatively stable orbits that are not in strong resonance with Neptune. Objects in this region, also known as cubewanos, are thought to have remained largely undisturbed since the Solar System's early history.

Resonant: This term describes KBOs whose orbits are in specific integer ratios with Neptune's orbital period. For example, Plutinos are KBOs in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune, meaning they complete two orbits around the Sun for every three orbits completed by Neptune.

Disk: The Kuiper Belt is a vast, flat, doughnut-shaped "disk" of icy bodies extending from the orbit of Neptune (at about 30 AU) out to around 50 AU from the Sun. It is similar to the asteroid belt but much larger and composed primarily of volatile ices.

Plutinos: These are KBOs that are in a 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune. Pluto itself is the largest and most famous plutino. Their resonant orbits protect them from being scattered away by Neptune's gravity.

Secret Word: "New Horizons" is the NASA spacecraft mission that performed the first-ever close flyby of Pluto and Arrokoth (another KBO). This mission revolutionized our understanding of the Kuiper Belt and its inhabitants. The term in the context of the Kuiper Belt also evokes the vast, unexplored regions beyond, representing the frontiers of Solar System discovery.