Scattered disk objects are distant and cold, with highly inclined and eccentric orbits. The largest, Eris, is a dwarf planet and part of a subset of trans-Neptunian objects. They may have originated from the Kuiper belt and have some of the coldest surfaces in the solar system. They are found between 35 and up to 1,000 AU from the Sun.
Scattered disk objects are among the most distant and coldest objects in the solar system. They are found between 35 and up to 1,000 AU from the Sun. With eccentricities of up to 55 degrees, some travel as much “vertical” to the plane of the ecliptic as they are “horizontal”. Unlike most other solar system objects, such as planets and most asteroids, these objects have highly inclined and eccentric orbits, with circular orbits being the exception rather than the norm.
The largest is Eris, whose discovery in 2003 hastened the formal definition of the word “planet” and the demotion of Pluto from the classification of planets. Eris is classified as a dwarf planet along with Pluto, which it surpasses in size and mass, and Ceres, previously considered the largest asteroid. Scattered disk objects are considered a subset of trans-Neptunian objects, which is a generic term used to refer to any body beyond the orbit of Neptune, including Pluto.
While their origin is not fully understood, the scattered disk objects are thought to have been former members of the Kuiper belt, which were ejected into eccentric orbits and scattered through close encounters with Neptune. They have some of the coldest surfaces in the solar system, with temperatures ranging from 30K to 55K. From the surface of one, the Sun would appear to be little more than an exceptionally bright star.
Because Pluto is about 32 AU away from the Sun, scattered disk objects range from slightly more distant to over 30 times farther from the Sun than Pluto. There are none closer to the Sun than 35 AU, because at that interval they would fall under the gravitational influence of Neptune and begin to normalize their orbits.
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