Colonization of trans-Neptunian objects: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:06, 25 July 2020

Revision as of 07:46, 16 November 2020

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{{short description|Proposed concepts for the human colonization of trans-Neptunian objects}}

{{Use American English|date=November 2020}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}

[[Image:Kuiper oort-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|Artist's rendering of the [[Kuiper belt]] and [[Oort cloud]].]]

{{Space colonization}}

[[Freeman Dyson]] has proposed that [[trans-Neptunian object]]s, rather than [[planet]]s, are the major potential habitat of life in space.{{CN|date=January 2016}} Several hundred billion to trillion [[comet]]-like ice-rich bodies exist outside the orbit of [[Neptune]], in the [[Kuiper belt]] and Inner and Outer [[Oort cloud]]. These may contain all the ingredients for life (water ice, ammonia, and carbon-rich compounds), including significant amounts of [[deuterium]] and [[helium-3]]. Since Dyson's proposal, the number of trans-Neptunian objects known has increased greatly.