| date: |
2008 Apr. 23(Wed) 16:00-17:30
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| room: |
Kobe University, Shizen Bldg. #3, room 609,
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| speaker: |
Dr. Nuno Peixinho (University of Hawaii, USA / University of Coimbra, Portugal)
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| title: |
The Kuiper Belt and its Progeny: trendy and colorful
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| abstract: |
The Kuiper Belt is a swarm of small icy bodies orbiting mainly beyond Neptune, usually known as Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOn) or Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). It's existence was somehow predicted in the first half of the 20th century but it was only observed in 1992. In just 15 years, more than 1000 bodies were identified and a planethood was lost. Being very far and very faint the study of the KBOs is quite challenging. Yet it is one of the most active fields in Solar System research. We will discuss the structure of the Kuiper Belt, its families, its color properties, its evolution and how those relate with each other.
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