King of the Kuiper Belt

Mercury, May/June 2004 Table of Contents

Courtesy of JHU/APL/SwRI

by Diana Whitman

Locked in the outer reaches of the Solar System, Pluto has received from us only a little attention. Perhaps that will soon change with the planned 2006 launch of the New Horizons spacecraft.

Asteroid. Planetoid. Trans-Neptunian Object. Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto has been labeled with these terms and more as we try to understand the mystery behind the so-called "ninth planet" in our solar system. Maybe that’s the reason for the enormous public interest: we all love a mystery.

Because Pluto eludes close observation by even the most powerful telescopes, and has yet to be visited by a spacecraft, there has been much debate over the years about Pluto’s status in the Solar System. With the discovery in February 2004 of yet another "Plutino" in the Kuiper Belt—this one thought to be about half the size of Pluto—we have further proof that Pluto may be more than just the smallest planet. This diminutive, icy-rocky object may prove to be "King of the Kuiper Belt," the Solar System’s unexplored and immense third region. At last, with NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft set for a 2006 launch, we will have the chance to learn more about Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), as well as the formation and evolution of our solar system.

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