Scattered disc

The Scattered Disc

The scattered disc is a faraway place in our Solar System. It is filled with icy objects that float far from the Sun. These objects are called scattered-disc objects (SDOs). They have special paths, or orbits, that stretch out and tilt in many directions.

Some of these objects can come close to the Sun and then move very far away. This makes them some of the coldest and farthest things we know in our Solar System. The scattered disc is a little like a big, wide space ring, but it stretches much farther out than a place called the Kuiper belt.

Astronomers think the scattered disc is where many comets come from. These comets visit the inner Solar System regularly. Before they become comets, these icy objects might pass through a stage called centaurs. These centaurs are found between the planets Jupiter and Neptune. Over time, the gravity of big planets pushes these objects toward the Sun, turning them into comets.

The first scattered-disc object was found in 1996. Since then, scientists have found more than 200 of these distant objects. One of the most famous is Eris, which is very big and has a tiny moon named Dysnomia. Even though there might be as many scattered-disc objects as objects in the Kuiper belt, we haven’t seen as many because they are much farther away.

The scattered disc is different from the Kuiper belt. Objects here have orbits that are stretched out and tilted. Some scientists think there might be another area, called the Oort cloud, even farther out, but we have not seen it directly. The scattered disc is a busy place where objects move in ways that change because of the pull from the planet Neptune.