The radial distribution of the Kuiper Belt

被引：98

作者：

Trujillo, CA ^{[1
]}

Brown, ME ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] CALTECH, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA

来源：

ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL | 2001年 / 554卷 / 01期

基金：

美国国家航空航天局;

关键词：

Kuiper Belt; Oort Cloud; minor planets; asteroids; solar system : formation;

D O I：

10.1086/320917

中图分类号：

P1 [天文学];

学科分类号：

0704 ;

摘要：

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.

引用

页码：L95 / L98

页数：4

共 17 条

[1] The edge of the solar system [J].