§16§This volume tries to summarize the status of observational knowledge of the Kuiper Belt. Its recent discovery has revitalized the astromomical study of the Solar System and is beginning to open new and unexpected windows on the physics of planetesimal accretion. With more and better observational data being obtained at the technological limit of current facilities, a new perception of the relationships that exist among the various classes of small Solar System bodies has emerged. The new observations have also motivated a number of fascinating theoretical studies in Solar System dynamics. §04§From the contents: The Kuiper Belt: Overviews.- Physical Characteristics of Trans-Neptunian Objects and Centaurs.- Detection of Thermal Emission from 1933 SC - First Results.- Physical Characteristics of Distant Comets.- Optical Observations of Trans-Neptunian and Centaur Objects.- Photometry Techniques - Report of Splinter Meeting.- TNO Color Survey with the VLT: Pilot Observations with the Science Verification Camera.- Colours of Distant Solar System Bodies.- A Pencil-Beam Search for Distant TNOs at the ESO NTT.- Does Pluto Affect the Trans-Neptunian Region?- Kiso EKBOs & Centaurs Survey and the Design and Implementation of the Moving Object Detection Engine.- Limitations of Numerical Modelling of Kuiper Belt Object Dynamics.- Future Investigations with New Facilities.- A SUBARU Survey Project with Suprime-Cam.- The PICCOCAM Project at Pic du Midi.- The Power of Pencil-Beam Searches for Trans-Neptunian Science.
