Where does the Kuiper belt begin?

Answer 1

Well it's a belt around the Sun. It's difficult to describe as it looks like a shotgun blast to a target with the Sun at the centre. Take a look for yourself [See Link] and make your own mind up

Answer 2

It doesn't have a clear and sharply defined boundary, but is generally considered to stretch from about the orbit of Neptune (30 AU) out to maybe 55 AU from the Sun, with the main population lying between the 2:3 orbital resonance with Neptune at around 40 AU out to the 1:2 orbital resonance at 48 AU or so.

There are KBOs whose orbits occasionally take them inside the orbit of Neptune, the most famous example being Pluto.

The Kuiper Belt should not be confused with the "scattered disk", a different collection of objects that can be found at roughly the same distances. The primary difference between the two is dynamic; scattered disk object frequently have extremely eccentric orbits.

Answer 3

The Kuiper belt was not formed per se but is a left over fragment of the initial formation of the Solar System.

The "left" over fragments conglomerated in orbit around the Sun. Unable to form into planets nor able to form moons because of their distance from a significant mass to draw them in, they became "ghostly" ice objects beyond the reach of any "solar" object.

Answer 4

it extends from the orbit of Neptune (the 8 planet) beyond neptune before Pluto so basically in between neptune and Pluto.

Answer 5

it is made of planetesimals that formed beyond neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet

Answer 6

the Kuiper Belt is a region beyond the planet Neptune

Answer 7

It was named after the Dutch-American astronomer Gerard Kuiper. However he wasn't directly responsible for predicting its existence so the name is honorary.

Answer 8

The Kuiper belt extends in a disk from the edges of Neptune's orbit out to the suburbs of the Oort cloud, between 3.7 billion miles and 7.4 billion miles from the Sun.

Answer 9

It is made of planetesimals that formed beyond Neptune's orbit and never accreted to form a planet.

Answer 10

Beyond Neptune's orbit - at a distance of about 30 to 50 AU.