Kuiper Belt in 3D
Beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt, a vast ring of icy bodies including Pluto. Explore it in 3D and see how far it sits from the inner planets.
What is the Kuiper Belt?
The Kuiper Belt stretches from about 30 to 50 AU from the Sun. It contains dwarf planets such as Pluto, Eris, Haumea and Makemake, plus countless smaller icy bodies — leftovers from the Solar System’s formation. Many short-period comets originate here.
Pluto and the dwarf planets
Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006 because it shares its neighbourhood with many similar objects. Its orbit is tilted and eccentric enough that it sometimes comes closer to the Sun than Neptune.