![[solarSystem_sizes.svg|align:center|550]] ## Asteroid Belt ![[asteroid_belt.png|align:center|450]] The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the solar system located between Mars and Jupiter ($R \in \left[ 2.0, 3.5 \right] \, {\rm AU}$) and centered on the [[Sun|sun]]. It is populated by a cluster of [[Smaller Non-Planetary Bodies#Asteroid|asteroids]] that did not create larger [[Smaller Non-Planetary Bodies#planetesimals]] or full sized planets during the formation of the solar system due to major perturbations in their orbits caused Jupiter. ## Kirkwood Gaps Today, we can see the evidence of these major perturbations from Jupiter by the [[Orbital Resonance|orbital resonances]] that appear in the asteroid belt. Several gaps within the distribution of semi-major axes of the asteroid belt have developed over time called the **"Kirkwood Gaps"**. ![[kirkwood_gaps.svg.png|align:center|450]] Similar to the dust in the rings of Saturn, these gaps developed through collisions of asteroids drawn into the gap, colliding with others, and being pushed back out of what-was a crowded space. The location of the most notable gaps occur at integer ratios of the Jupiter's orbit (asteroid:Jupiter $\Rightarrow$ 4:1, 3:1, 5:2, 7:3 and 2:1 resonances).