site_of_astronomical_discovery 
In physics , an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of an object around a point in space , for example the orbit of a planet about a star or a natural satellite around a planet . Normally , orbit refers to a regularly repeating path around a body , although it may occasionally be used for a non recurring trajectory or a path around a point in space . To a close approximation , planets and satellites follow elliptical orbits , with the central mass being orbited at a focal point of the ellipse , as described by ___MASK56___ ' s laws of planetary motion . ( 119951 ) 2002 KX14 , also written as 2002 KX14 , is a trans - Neptunian object ( TNO ) residing within the Kuiper belt . It was discovered on 17 May 2002 by Michael E . Brown and Chad Trujillo . It has a semi - major axis , orbital period and orbital eccentricity close to that of a plutino . The orbital periods of plutinos cluster around 247 . 2 years ( 1 . 5 times Neptune ' s orbital period ) . However , ( 119951 ) 2002 KX14 is not a plutino , because is not in resonance with Neptune , and it may have formed near its present nearly circular orbit lying almost perfectly on the ecliptic . It may have remained dynamically cold and thus its orbit may not be a direct result of significant perturbations during Neptune ' s outward planetary migration . The Deep Ecliptic Survey ( DES ) currently shows it as a cubewano ( classical ) based on a 10 - million - year integration of the orbit . It comes to opposition in late May at an apparent magnitude of 20 . 4 . This makes it about 360 times fainter than Pluto . A trans - Neptunian object ( TNO , also written transneptunian object ) is any minor planet in the Solar System that orbits the Sun at a greater average distance ( semi - major axis ) than Neptune , 30 astronomical units ( AU ). Twelve minor planets with a semi - major axis greater than 150 AU and perihelion greater than 30 AU are known , which are called extreme trans - Neptunian objects ( ETNOs ). Haumea , minor - planet designation 136108 Haumea , is a dwarf planet located beyond Neptune ' s orbit . It was discovered in 2004 by a team headed by Mike Brown of Caltech at the ___MASK47___ in the United States and independently in 2005 , by a team headed by José Luis Ortiz Moreno at the Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain , though the latter claim has been contested . On September 17 , 2008 , it was recognized as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union ( IAU ) and named after Haumea , the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth . The Kuiper belt or , sometimes called the Edgeworth  Kuiper belt , is a circumstellar disc in the Solar System beyond the planets , extending from the orbit of Neptune ( at 30 AU ) to approximately 50 AU from the Sun . It is similar to the asteroid belt , but it is far larger  20 times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive . Like the asteroid belt , it consists mainly of small bodies , or remnants from the Solar System ' s formation . Although many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal , most Kuiper belt objects are composed largely of frozen volatiles ( termed " ices "), such as methane , ammonia and water . The Kuiper belt is home to three officially recognized dwarf planets : Pluto , Haumea , and Makemake . Some of the Solar System ' s moons , such as Neptune ' s Triton and Saturn ' s Phoebe , are also thought to have originated in the region .