Whose work helped show that Pluto is not the only world beyond Neptune?
Quick Answer
Gerard Kuiper helped shape modern ideas about the outer Solar System, and David Jewitt and Jane Luu discovered 1992 QB1 in 1992, the first Kuiper Belt object found after Pluto. That discovery opened the door to a new population of trans-Neptunian worlds.
The Full Story
Gerard Kuiper proposed ideas about a belt of icy objects beyond Neptune, though the belt was not discovered in his lifetime. In 1992, David Jewitt and Jane Luu found 1992 QB1, the first object beyond Pluto later recognized as part of the Kuiper Belt. Since then, thousands of such bodies have been cataloged. The discovery changed the view of Pluto from a lonely oddity to one of many icy worlds.
Key Facts
YouTube Angle
Suggested video title for this topic:
"The discovery that showed Pluto is part of a crowded outer neighborhood."