Is the asteroid belt an exploded planet?

Astronomers used to believe that the objects within the asteroid belt were the remnant of a planet smaller than Earth’s moon that had exploded. However this theory is now accepted to be untrue and it is thought the asteroids were never part of a planet.

Why did the asteroid belt not form a planet?

So why doesn’t the asteroid belt condense and form a planet? First of all, there’s not enough total mass in the belt to form a planet. Second, the belt is too close to Jupiter. The belt contains only about 4 percent of the Moon’s mass in asteroids — not enough to form a planet-sized body.

Why do you suppose scientist hypothesize that there was a planet between Mars and Jupiter that did not completely form into one?

When astronomers looked at the orbits of the planets, they felt that there could be a planet “missing” in between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. Astronomers think that Jupiter formed early enough that its gravity ruined the chances for another planet to assemble itself in the region between Mars and Jupiter.

Did the planet Pluto explode?

Pluto never blew up. It was, however, disqualified as a planet and categorized as a dwarf planet.

Why isn’t there a planet where the asteroid belt is located quizlet?

Why isn’t there a planet where the asteroid belt is located? gravitational tugs from Jupiter prevented material from collecting together to form a planet. The strength of gravity on small asteroids is less than the strength of the rock.

Why did the asteroid belt form?

The asteroid belt formed from the primordial solar nebula as a group of planetesimals. Asteroid orbits continue to be appreciably perturbed whenever their period of revolution about the Sun forms an orbital resonance with Jupiter. At these orbital distances, a Kirkwood gap occurs as they are swept into other orbits.

What keeps the asteroid belt together?

Asteroids are relatively small rocky metallic objects that orbit the sun. Gravity keeps the asteroids in orbit around the sun, but the main asteroid belt we see today is only a tiny fraction of what used to exist and is predominately empty space. …

What purpose does the asteroid belt serve?

The asteroid belt (sometimes referred to as the main asteroid belt) orbits between Mars and Jupiter. It consists of asteroids and minor planets forming a disk around the sun. It also serves as a sort of dividing line between the inner rocky planets and outer gas giants.

What caused Pluto to explode?

In his novel World of Ptavvs (1966), it is theorized to have been a moon of Neptune knocked out of orbit by an interstellar craft moving near the speed of light. A fusion-driven spacecraft landing on Pluto in this story releases the frozen methane, oxygen, etc., and causes the entire planet to be engulfed in flames.

What are facts about the asteroid belt?

The asteroid belt is located between the inner and the outer planets and is home to thousands of rocks and debris known as asteroids and some of the dwarf planets. All of these orbit the Sun. Some asteroids do orbit in space near to Earth and some are forced out of the asteroid belt by gravity and sent towards the outer solar system instead.

What caused the asteroid belt?

When the asteroid belt formed objects began to join together and form what are known as protoplanets. However, the gravitation pull caused by the formation of Jupiter meant that collisions of these small celestial objects became too violent and instead of fusing together, they shattered.

Which planet has the largest asteroid belt?

The largest asteroid is called Ceres. It is about one-quarter the size of the moon and orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter in a region called the asteroid belt.

How do you describe the asteroid belt?

The asteroid belt is a region of space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where most of the asteroids in our Solar System are found orbiting the Sun. The asteroid belt probably contains millions of asteroids.