ACS images of KBO 'quaoar'

With the help of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have determined that 2002 LM60, an icy Kuiper belt object dubbed 'Quaoar', by its discoverers, is the largest body found in the solar system since the discovery of Pluto 72 years ago. Quaoar (pronounced kwa-whar) is about half the size of Pluto. Like Pluto, Quaoar dwells in the Kuiper belt, an icy debris field of comet-like bodies extending 7 billion miles (more than 11 billion kilometres) beyond Neptune's orbit.

Credit:

NASA/ESA and M. Brown (Caltech)

About the Image

NASA press release
Id:opo0217b
Type:Observation
Release date:7 October 2002, 06:00
Size:3000 x 2400 px

About the Object

Name:Quaoar
Type:Solar System : Interplanetary Body : Dwarf planet
Category:Solar System

Image Formats

r.titleLarge JPEG
703.0 KB
r.titleScreensize JPEG
190.0 KB

Also see our


Privacy policy Accelerated by CDN77