12. Kuiper belt

The Kuiper belt is located between Neptune and the end of the solar system. it is about 30 astronomical units or, maybe 55 AU from the sun (1 astronomical unit is the distance from the earth to the sun.) that’s a long way from the sun!!!!

that’s not the only amazing thing about it because the main body of the Kuiper belt is ranging from almost 40 astronomical units to 48 A.U!!!!

the Kuiper belt is not ALL made of little and HUGE asteroids it also has little dwarf planets lurking inside it (Haumea, Pluto, Eris, and makemake). asteroids are space rocks. some of them are the same size as 1 grain of sugar, whilst others are as BIG as house and are irregularly shaped. dwarf planets are bigger than asteroid's but, are smaller than planets.

the solar system formed more than 4.5 Billion years ago by an explosion that formed our sun. then the force of the sun’s gravity made some nearby asteroid’s crashing into each other. that made all the planets. but this is weird, one of the planets where in the habitable zone but didn’t have life. then a meteor shower hit for 1000000 years and stopped. if you could look at the earth after that shower you would see a blue planet. that the cooling crust of the earth. it has water! then over millions of years the 7 continents formed they broke apart. that’s what it looks like right now, but back to the Kuiper belt.

the kuiper Belt has two moons (neptune and planet 9).

thanks for reading about the Kuiper belt!