this page honors Kenneth Essex Edgeworth (1880-1972)

In 1943, Kenneth Edgeworth published a brief article in the Journal of the British Astronomical Assocation that presented a theory that our solar system did not end with Neptune. In a longer article published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in June 1949, he elaborated on his idea that the embryonic solar system was formed by a rotating disk of small solid particles.

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According to Edgeworth, "[i]t would be unreasonable to suppose that the original rotating disk of scattered material came to an abrupt end outside the orbit of Neptune. There must have been a gradual thinning out of the material at the outer boundary."

Also, "[i]t is not unreasonable to suppose that this outer region is now occupied by a large number of comparatively small clusters, and that it is in fact a vast reservoir of potential comets. From time to time one of these clusters is displaced from its position, enters the inner regions of the solar system, and becomes a visible comet."

The complete 1949 article is available at the NASA Astrophysics Data System. Thanks, NASA!

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