Asteroid Belt

Question 1

Asteroids; what are their characteristics

Answer 1

Light Photography; asteroids appear as lines in the sky, easier to discover
Responsible for craters; more small craters than large (meaning smaller asteroids)

Irregular shape

Question 2

What is the origin of the asteroid belt?

Answer 2

Not from a single world - because carbonaceous chondrite cant come from large world (means asteroids have always been small)
-also because the asteroids have different oxygen isotopes (meaning different compositions)

Question 3

Physical Structure; where are the asteroids?

Answer 3

A group of asteroids lead and follow at 60 degrees (gravity is balanced…lagrange point
Most aren’t here though, they are all over the place

Question 4

Why are resonances important?

Answer 4

Don’t like to be in resonances (asteroid orbits the sun twice for every time Jupiter orbits the sun…causes a change in their orbit and moves asteroid into inner solar system and causes impacts) 2 to 1 resonance = kicked in
Asteroids not in resonance are still pushed but random so they equal zero and orbit doesnt change

Question 5

Chemical structure; composition vs distance

Answer 5

Accretion; They don’t accrete because accretion occurs with slow velocities but Jupiter causes them to have faster velocities and Jupiter also fragments them…they are also million of km apart from each other

Asteroids on the inner part of asteroid belt are Achondrites (least primitive) and on the outer are carbonaceous chondrites (most primitive)

Snow line-high temperature at which ices are gas and rock and iron are solid/condense = rock iron world….low temperature at which ices rock and iron are solid/condense = ice rocky world…the outer solar system is dominated by ice and volatiles that is why they are usually icy worlds…depends on distance

Ice is the most common solid material