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Published April 2004 | Published
Journal Article Open

The Plane of the Kuiper Belt

Abstract

We present a robust method for measuring the effective plane of the Kuiper belt. The derived plane has an inclination with respect to the ecliptic of 1º.86 and an ascending node of 81º.6, with a 1 σ error in pole position of the plane of 0º.37. The plane of the Kuiper belt is inconsistent with the invariable plane, the plane of Jupiter, and the plane of Neptune at the greater than 3 σ level. Using linear secular perturbation theory, we show that the plane of the Kuiper belt is expected to oscillate about the position of the invariable plane with a period of 1.9 million years and an amplitude of 1º.2. The present predicted position of the plane of the Kuiper belt has an inclination with respect to the ecliptic of 1º.74 and an ascending node of 86º.7, within 0º.20 of our measured position.

Additional Information

© 2004 American Astronomical Society. Received 2003 July 30; accepted 2003 December 23. We thank Chad Trujillo and Re'em Sari for inspirational conversations. This research is supported by a PECASE grant from NASA Planetary Astronomy

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August 22, 2023
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