What is the Kuiper Belt?

The Kuiper Belt is indeed a region beyond Neptune filled with small icy bodies. This part of the solar system is situated roughly between 30 and 55 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. It is an important area because it contains a large number of small objects that are remnants from the early solar system, specifically the building blocks that did not coalesce into planets.

Many of the objects found in the Kuiper Belt are composed of ice, rock, and other compounds, which differentiate them from the rocky bodies found in the inner solar system. The Kuiper Belt is also home to several dwarf planets, including Pluto, Haumea, and Makemake. This area is significant in studies of planetary formation and the dynamics of our solar system, revealing insights into how planetary systems evolve over time.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately define the Kuiper Belt. For example, while the inner solar system does contain zones of asteroids, these typically refer to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and do not capture the icy characteristics of the Kuiper Belt. A star cluster pertains to a group of stars formed together in a specific region, and an orbital path for comet nuclei does not specifically define the Kuiper Belt, even though