SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Within the asteroid belt are relatively empty regions known as Kirkwood gaps. These gaps correspond to orbital resonances with Jupiter. The gas giant’s gravitational pull keeps these regions far emptier than the rest of the belt. In other resonances, the asteroids can be more concentrated.

Detailed explanation-2: -Other parts of the main belt, called Kirkwood gaps, are almost empty because regular gravitational interactions with Jupiter sweep the regions clear of asteroids.

Detailed explanation-3: -But when Kirkwood mapped out all their orbits, he noticed something odd: gaps. Orbits that by all rights should have had asteroids, but simply didn’t. These gaps happened at very precise distances from the sun, for example at 2.065 AU, 2.502 AU, and 3.279 AU.

Detailed explanation-4: -What causes the “gaps” observed in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter? Jupiter’s gravity causes orbital resonances that nudge asteroids out of these areas.

Detailed explanation-5: -Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits. The belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones.