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.

Kirkwood gaps

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.[1]

References

Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite (1956). Banners in the Wilderness: The Early Years of Washington and Jefferson College. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 158. OCLC 2191890.

Other websites

Article on Kirkwood gaps at Wolfram's scienceworld
A method to create a short-term simulation Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine.

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[1] Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite (1956). Banners in the Wilderness: The Early Years of Washington and Jefferson College. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 158. OCLC 2191890.