Asteroid Belt

StarChild.com

The Asteroid Belt is the region of the solar system located between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. The belt travels in an elliptical path like the planets. It takes three to six Earth years to make a complete revolution around the sun. It is full with numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. It is also called the main belt because there are others in the solar system. Some very large asteroids that occupies the Belt are Ceres, 4 Vesta, 2 pallas,and 10 Hygiea that make up half the mass of the Belt the rest can range up to dust particles. The asteroid is said to be formed because of  a theory called the Solar Nebula which is a disc-shaped cloud of gas and dust left over from the formation of the sun.

The first aircraft to travel the Asteroid Belt was Pioneer 10 which entered the Belt on July16, 1972. At the time there was some concern that  the debris from the Belt would cause problems to the space craft but it has since been traveling safely without any incidents.

 The Belt consists of four main asteroids:

The carbon rich Carbonaceous asteroids which dominate the Belt and make up 75% of visible asteroids. The S-type are silicate-rich and are commonly found in the inner part if the Belt and make up about 17% of  asteroid population.

The M-type are metal-rich and make up 10% of total asteroid population

Asteroids in orbit can cause collisions. collisions occur frequently. when asteroids collide and become numerous smaller pieces called asteroid families. an asteroid family is a population of asteroids that share similar elements. Dust that are in the Belt are caused by these collision.

An asteroid can be pulled out of its path orbit by the gravitational pull of a larger object such as a planet.

more than 7000 asteriods have been discovered and hundreds more have been discovered each year and hundreds more can not be sen from Earth.

The combination of fine dust particles and ejected material  produces the Zodiacal Light shown above. This faint glow can be seen at night extended from the direction of the sun.