NASA's New Horizons Reveals Kuiper Belt's Vast Extension

Unexpected high levels of dust detected by the spacecraft suggest the icy region beyond Neptune may be significantly larger than previously estimated.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has discovered that the Kuiper Belt, a distant region of icy objects beyond Neptune, may extend billions of miles farther than previously thought.
The spacecraft detected unexpectedly high levels of dust, suggesting the presence of a larger population of objects or even a second belt beyond the known Kuiper Belt.
New Horizons, which has traveled 5 billion miles over 18 years, could operate through the 2040s and potentially explore beyond 100 astronomical units from the Sun.
The discovery challenges existing models of the Kuiper Belt and could significantly alter our understanding of the solar system's structure.
Telescopic observations from Earth, including those from the Japanese Subaru Telescope, support the findings of an extended Kuiper Belt.