00:00Kuiper Belt objects, also known as KBOs, are icy remnants from the early solar system located
00:06beyond Neptune.
00:08There are over 3,000 catalogue KBOs so far, but scientists estimate there could be hundreds
00:14of thousands more, each over 10 miles in diameter.
00:17The largest KBO is the dwarf planet Pluto.
00:22While these distant objects typically don't form their own systems, researchers have likely
00:27identified a stable trio of icy space rocks in the Kuiper Belt.
00:32This discovery of the Alt-Jira system, made using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii
00:37and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, could mark only the second three-body system found in
00:42the region.
00:43If confirmed, the Alt-Jira system hints at the possibility of more such triple systems awaiting
00:49discovery.
00:50These formations challenge the idea that collisions in the crowded Kuiper Belt produce such groups.
00:56Instead, they support the theory that triplets like these formed directly through the gravitational
01:01collapse of material in the solar system's early disk around 4.5 billion years ago.
01:08While stars are known to form as pairs or triples through gravitational collapse, researchers are
01:13still investigating whether this process applies to Kuiper Belt objects.
01:17The Alt-Jira system lies 3.7 billion miles away, or 44 times the distance between Earth and
01:25the Sun.
01:26Only a fraction of a pixel on Hubble's camera separates the two innermost members.
01:31Studying such distant, faint objects orbiting so close together requires patience and persistence.
01:37Using Hubble and Keck, scientists observed the system with data spanning over 17 years.
01:43This long-term study shows us Hubble's incredible value to astronomy.
01:48After more than 30 years in space, Hubble can revisit objects days, weeks, months, or even
01:54decades later, helping us uncover the mysteries of the universe, one observation at a time.
02:15be
