The region of the Solar System beyond Neptune contains sparse populations of relatively small rocky and icy objects. These include the Kuiper belt, a group which includes the dwarf planet Pluto and other plutoids including Haumea and Makemake. Further out is the scattered disk, a group which includes Eris, a dwarf planet slightly smaller than Pluto, and even more distant detached objects such as Sedna.
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In the past, the use of this area of the solar system as a setting for science fiction has been limited to Pluto, given its comparatively early discovery in 1930, and trans-plutonian fictional planets. However, as Eris, other dwarf planets such as Haumea and Makemake and further trans-Neptunian objects have been discovered and the region has been better scrutinized by astronomers, works of fiction have begun to reflect the region more extensively and realistically.