Floating around at the edge of the Solar System are leftovers from its formation. This is the Kuiper Belt, which is composed ...

"The universe is filled with a range of three-body systems, including the closest stars to Earth, the Alpha Centauri star system, and we're finding that the Kuiper Belt may be no exception!" ...

Astronomers just spotted what they think might be a third object in a Kuiper Belt system known as Altjira, which would make it a triple system instead of a binary. If confirmed, it would mean Altjira ...

An illustration of the 148780 Altjira system of two or maybe three asteroids. Inset: the Hubble Space Telescope | Credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) If it is confirmed as a triplet, ...

One object in the Kuiper Belt, known as Altjira, is the the focus of this study. Over the last 10 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has taken pictures of Altjira and a 2011 study found that it appears ...

M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. If confirmed as the second such three-body system found in the region, the 148780 Altjira system suggests there could be similar triples waiting to be discovered ...

This artist's concept depicts one of the possible scenarios for the 148780 Altjira system in the solar system's Kuiper Belt. It is likely a hierarchical triple formation, in which two very close ...

148780 Altjira is around 6 billion kilometers away from Earth and consists of three Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO), each around 200 kilometers in size. Altjira was discovered with the Hubble Space ...

New research suggests that a binary pair of Kuiper Belt objects, known as the Altjira system, is actually made up of three separate bodies orbiting one another in a complex triad. This rare orbital ...