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Kuiper Belt Objects, also known as KBOs,

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are icy remnants from the early solar system,  

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located beyond Neptune.

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There are over 3,000 cataloged KBOs so far,  

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but scientists estimate there could 
be hundreds of thousands more,  

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each over 10 miles in diameter. 

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The largest KBO is the dwarf planet Pluto. 

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While these distant objects typically 
don’t

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form their own systems, researchers  

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have likely identified a stable trio of

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icy space rocks in the Kuiper Belt. 

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This discovery of the Altjira system,

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made using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii,  

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and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope

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could mark only the second three-body system

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found in the region.

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If confirmed, the Altjira system hints

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at the possibility of more such triple systems

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awaiting discovery.

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These formations challenge the idea

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that collisions in the crowded Kuiper Belt

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produce such groups.

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Instead, they support the 
theory that

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triplets like these form directly

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through the gravitational collapse of material

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in the solar system’s early disk,

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around 4.5 billion years ago.

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While stars are known to form as 
pairs or triples

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through gravitational collapse,

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researchers are still investigating whether

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this process applies to Kuiper Belt objects.

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The Altjira system lies 3.7 billion miles away,

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or 44 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

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Only a fraction of a pixel on Hubble’s 
camera

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separates the two innermost members.

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Studying such distant, faint objects

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orbiting so close together requires patience and persistence.  

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Using Hubble and Keck, scientists observed

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the system with data spanning over 17 years.

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This long-term study shows us

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Hubble’s incredible value to astronomy.

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After more than 30 years in space,

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Hubble can revisit objects

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days, weeks, months, or even decades later,  

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helping us uncover the mysteries

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of the universe, one observation at a time.

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