Kirkwood gaps, interruptions that appear in the distribution of asteroids where the orbital period of any small body present would be a simple fraction of that of Jupiter.
Kirkwood Gaps
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regions in the asteroid belt within which few asteroids are found.
Kirkwood gaps
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Kirkwood Gaps
Gaps in the which are cleared out by gravitational interactions with . They were first observed by Kirkwood in 1886. The most prominent correspond to 2:1, 3:1, 5:3, and 7:2 resonances (i.e.
More recent numerical simulations have shown the behavior of asteroids in Kirkwood gaps to be chaotic. And they represent the most likely origin for the rogue asteroids that collide with Earth every few eons and cause mass extinctions.
Kirkwood gaps Gaps in the spacings of semi-major axes of orbits of asteroids in the asteroid belt, produced by dynamical resonances with nearby planets, especially Jupiter.
KIRKWOOD GAPS - Asteroid-free gaps in the asteroid belt where asteroids have orbital periods that are a fraction of Jupiter's. Jupiter pulls asteroids out of these resonant orbits and produces the gaps.
Kirkwood gaps
Regions in the asteroid zone which have been swept clear of asteroids by the perturbing effects of Jupiter. They were named for the American astronomer Daniel Kirkwood.
KL nebula ...
Kirkwood Gaps
regions in the main belt of asteroids where few or no asteroids are found. They were named after the scientist who first noticed them.
KIRKWOOD GAPS
Regions of the asteroid belt which are largely devoid of asteroids.
KRUSKAL DIAGRAM ...
[edit] Kirkwood gaps
Main article: Kirkwood gap
This chart shows the distribution of asteroid semi-major axes in the "core" of the main belt. Cyan arrows point to the Kirkwood gaps, where orbital resonances with Jupiter destabilize orbits.
Kirkwood gaps
For example, there are very few asteroids with semimajor axis near 2.50 AU, period 3.95 years, which is one-third of the orbital period of Jupiter (hence, called the 1:3 orbital resonance).
KIRKWOOD GAPS
The Kirkwood gaps are radial gaps in the asteroid belt. These gaps are orbital radii where the gravitational forces from Jupiter do not let asteroids orbit (they would be pulled into Jupiter).
Kirkwood gaps
Regions in the asteroid belt where almost no asteroids can be found. This is due to the fact that the giant planet Jupiter changes the orbits of any object which enters these areas.
Light Year ...
Kirkwood gaps The semi-major axis
Semi-major axis
In geometry, the semi-major axis is used to describe the dimensions of ellipses and hyperbolae....
THE KIRKWOOD GAPS
The asteroid belt is not smooth; there are concentric gaps in it (known as Kirkwood gaps). These gaps are orbital radii where the gravitational forces from do not let asteroids orbit (they would be pulled towards Jupiter).
Kirkwood Gaps
Asteroid orbit distributions show evidence for Kirkwood Gaps, which are certain orbital radii within the asteroid belt for which there are few asteroids.
When considering the semi-major axes of all asteroids, the main belt contains noticeable gaps, called Kirkwood gaps, in its distribution.
These gaps were first noted by a fellow named Kirkwood, so they are called the Kirkwood gaps. Why are they there?
There are relatively empty areas between the main concentrations of asteroids in the Main Belt called the Kirkwood gaps, where an object's orbital period would be a simple fraction of Jupiter's.
The troughs are called the Kirkwood gaps. These correspond to distances where the minor planet would have an orbital period that is a simple fraction of that of Jupiter.
Daniel Kirkwood
1814-1895
American
discovered the ``Kirkwood gaps'' in the orbits of the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter; explained the gaps in Saturn's rings ...
3 AU from the Sun with holes (called Kirkwood gaps) in the distribution of objects. These gaps coincide with orbital periods which are exact fractions of the period of Jupiter. However, these objects can be found elsewhere in the solar system.
Daniel Kirkwood (1814-1895) was an American astronomer who discovered the radial gaps in the asteroid belt in 1866 (now known as the Kirkwood gaps).
"shepherding satellites" (i.e. Atlas, Prometheus and Pandora) are clearly important in keeping the rings in place; Mimas seems to be responsible for the paucity of material in the Cassini division, which seems to be similar to the Kirkwood gaps in ...
It is clear from this chart that there are many gaps in the distribution of the asteroids, and in some cases almost no asteroids are found in the locations. These are called Kirkwood Gaps, and they arise because of resonances with Jupiter.
Kirkwood gaps
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(1) To each chemical species there corresponds a characteristic spectrum. (2) Every element is capable of absorbing the radiation which it is able to emit; this is the phenomenon of the reversal of the lines. [H76]
Kirkwood gaps ...
break-up of larger bodies results in families of asteroids which all share very similar orbital properties and cluster together. While at the other extreme, there are zones in which there are almost no asteroids. These are known as the Kirkwood Gaps ...
astronomical units (au - the distance between the Sun and the Earth) inside the orbit of the companion due to tidal forces." Jenkins says. These are similar to tidal forces in our Solar System caused by the planet Jupiter, creating the Kirkwood Gaps ...
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