Kirkwood gap

Kirkwood gaps are areas of the asteroid belt where asteroids are unusually scarce, as seen in the graph on the right. They are caused by orbital resonances with Jupiter.

The gaps were first noticed in 1857 by Daniel Kirkwood, who also correctly explained their origin in the orbital resonances with Jupiter while a professor at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

 References 

 Other websites 
 Article on Kirkwood gaps at Wolfram's scienceworld
 A method to create a short-term simulation .

Category:Asteroids
Category:Jupiter