The Trans-Neptunian Region
- Traditionally[1], it has been divided into two regions: (Boundary at roughly q~35AU)
- The Kuiper belt: Orbits that are long-term stable.
- The Scattered Disk: More fragile orbits.
- Indeed, the scattered disk has slowly been eroding with time.
- It is the current source of Centaurs.
- 2003 EL61 is in the Kuiper belt (a=43.3AU, e=0.19, i=28 degrees).
But it is an odd beast:
- It is the fourth largest KBO — D~900 km.
- But, it is elongated due to spin.
[1] The last couple of years.
