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Kuiper belt

(kī′pər)

a belt of icy debris orbiting in the outer solar system, thought to be the source of many comets

Origin: after G. P. Kuiper (1905-73), U.S. astronomer

See Kuiper belt in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A disk-shaped region in the outer solar system lying beyond the orbit of Neptune and extending to a distance of about 50 astronomical units, containing thousands of small icy bodies, some of which are on highly elliptical orbits, periodically visiting the inner solar system as comets.

Origin:

Origin: After Gerard Kuiper (1905-1973), Dutch-born American astronomer who speculated about the existence of such a region

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