Science News for Kids, March 21st, 2007
In a distant region of our solar system, scientists have found a group of related objects that have similar surfaces and orbits. It's the first "family" of objects ever discovered in the Kuiper belt, which is a vast ring of rocky and icy bodies that orbit the sun beyond Neptune.
One member of the family, called 2003 EL61, had already attracted attention because it is so unusual. The icy object is shaped like a squashed football. It is about as wide as Pluto, which is also part of the Kuiper belt. It even has two moons.
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The scientists who discovered 2003 EL61 suspect...
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