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arXiv · astro-ph/0009162

The Kuiper Belt and Olbers Paradox

Scott J. Kenyon·Rogier A. Windhorst
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Abstract

We investigate the constraints that Olbers Paradox, applied to the Zodiacal Background as measured from space, sets on outer solar system objects. If extended to very faint limits, R = 40--50 mag, the steep optical luminosity function (LF) of Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) at R less than 26 mag implies an infinitely bright night sky. Small KBOs with radii of 1 mm to 1 km must have a size distribution n(r) proportional to r^{-a}, with a = 3.5 or smaller to satisfy the known limits on the sky-surface brightness at optical and far-infrared wavelengths. Improved limits on the measured KBO surface brightness can yield direct estimates of the albedo, temperature, and size distribution for small KBOs in the outer solar system.

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Scott J. Kenyon, Rogier A. Windhorst. 2000-10-05. The Kuiper Belt and Olbers Paradox. https://doi.org/10.1086/318885

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