Image provided courtesy of the Minor Planet Center , Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory M ost asteroids are in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The image above is a plot prepared by the Minor Planet Center showing the distribution of known main belt asteroids.
Some asteroids have orbits that come close to or actually cross Earth's orbit.
These are the Near Earth Asteroids . Another group of asteroids called the Trojan Family circles the Sun in Jupiter's orbit. T he motion of a body like an asteroid can be influenced by the gravitational force of a larger body like a planet. The motions of two bodies can appear to be linked. For example, the Moon is in resonance with the Earth.