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Kuiper Belt Collision Found; Possible Comet Source

siglercm writes "Astronomers have detected the remnants of an ancient collision in the Kuiper Belt, the region of bodies found outside of our solar system. The massive impact between a nearly Pluto-sized body and one half as large created a 'collisional family' of objects; this is the first such family identified in the Kuiper Belt. The largest body produced may cross Neptune's orbit in the distant future, but it's possible that smaller objects created by the smash-up have already fallen into the inner solar system as comets."

3 of 68 comments (clear)

  1. Hill sphere comes close to what you want by benhocking · · Score: 4, Informative

    If you consider the nearest stars and/or the galaxy as a whole, you could calculate the Hill sphere for the Sun. I do believe that, in purely technical terms, it's large.

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    Ben Hocking
    Need a professional organizer?
  2. Try 800 by benhocking · · Score: 4, Informative

    At least according to Wikipedia! (I had no idea we were up that high, either.)

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    Ben Hocking
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  3. shaped like a M&M by daniel23 · · Score: 3, Informative

    I spent more than an hour reading about this and other finds on the homepage of one of the team who found that,
    M.E.Brown

    The Link has a animated model of the thing and a schematic of its structure that looks like candy..

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    605413? Yes, it's a prime.