Neptune Emptied the Kuiper Belts

Researchers from the Southwest Research Institute believe they have a theory that could help explain why there are so few objects in the Kuiper belt - a band of objects outside the orbit of Neptune.

According to theories of how planetary systems form, there should be 100 times more material in the Kuiper belt than astronomers have observed. The researchers believe that the gas giants, including Neptune, formed closer to the Sun, and have slowly drifted further out over time. As Neptune migrated out, it could have pushed the Kuiper objects out of the solar system.