If you’re like me, the first thing you thought when you read “beyond Pluto” was that we had no idea where they were. In fact, it is now believed that there are approximately a trillion comets out there in the Kuiper Belt. And who knows how many more might be hiding at the very edge of our solar system? Beyond Pluto: A Logical Place for Comets Description: about a trillion comets are thought to be located far, far beyond pluto in the Kuiper Belt. And who knows how many more might be hiding at the very edge of our solar system? The implication is that we can’t see them because they’re so dim and faint. But what if there’s something else going on? What if this region has some effect or quality that makes it difficult to detect these remote objects from Earth? The question is whether this region has some effect or quality that makes it difficult to detect these remote objects from Earth. It’s possible, for example, that the light we see when comets pass near sun-like stars can be absorbed by hydrogen and other gases in the Kuiper Belt so they don’t show up on our telescopes – at least not with enough brightness to make them detectable. It could also be a case of “seeing is believing”. That is, if there are many faint comet nuclei out there but no one ever looks for them because their existence isn’t believed then how would anyone know? What I find most fascinating about this idea of really distant comets is what it implies about life beyond Pluto.
