451-pluto-solar-system-diagram-dixon – This technical astronomical diagram illustrates the structural layout of the solar system from an oblique perspective, emphasizing the relationship between the planets, the asteroid belt, and the expansive Kuiper Belt. The inner planets orbit closely around the bright central Sun, bordered by a dense, white-flecked main asteroid belt and two Trojan asteroid clouds. The major gas giants trace clean white paths across a vast, dark disc, while a highly eccentric, inclined orbital path cuts steeply through the outer system, demonstrating the orbital mechanics characteristic of Pluto and other resonant trans-Neptunian objects navigating the hazy, brown-tinted debris field of the Kuiper Belt. Digital, for Scientific American; Artwork © 2007 Don Dixon / cosmographica.com
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