Back

Kirkwood gaps: mean-motion resonances with Jupiter

What you are seeing: the asteroid belt (orange dots) has gaps where Jupiter's 2:1, 3:1, 5:2 etc. mean-motion resonances pump up asteroid eccentricities until they leave the belt. The dashed lines mark the resonance semi-major axes.

Figure 1. Kirkwood-gap map and resonance locations.
speed2.0

WHAT TO TRY

  • Vary each control and watch the rail readouts respond.
  • Compare the diagnostic plot against the live scene.