What Is the Origin of Many of the Bodies in the Kuiper

question 43

Multiple Choice

What is the origin of many of the bodies in the Kuiper belt and the Oort comet cloud?

• A) These bodies were part of the original solar nebula. Because they are so far from the rest of the solar system, these regions were undisturbed by the creation of the planets, and these objects have remained there ever since.
• B) These distant objects have been captured from interstellar space by the Sun's gravitational pull.
• C) The gravitational forces from Jupiter and Saturn flung planetesimals from regions closer to the Sun out into these regions.
• D) Early in the history of the solar system, it is believed that these objects were pulled out of the Sun by a close encounter with a passing star.