The Kuiper belt was actually theorized by an astronomer named F. C. Leonard in 19309, but the name honours Gerard Kuiper, a Dutch native working in America, who expanded the idea. The Kuiper belt is the source of what are known as short-period comets – those that come past pretty regularly – of which the most famous is Halley’s comet. The more reclusive long-period comets (among them the recent visitors Hale–Bopp and Hyakutake) come from the much more distant Oort cloud, about which more presently.
Kuiper Belt
