Kirkwood gaps

Scientific  

/ kûrk′wd /

1. Specific regions in the asteroid belt where few asteroids are found. The Kirkwood gaps are believed to have formed as a consequence of gravitational interactions of asteroids with Jupiter, which resulted in the movement of the asteroids from within this area into another orbit, leaving the area sparsely populated. The Kirkwood gaps are named after the American astronomer Daniel Kirkwood (1814–1895), who first observed them in 1866.

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Example Sentences

“This is now the accepted explanation of the ‘Kirkwood gaps’ in the asteroid belt: in certain narrow bands, asteroid orbits become chaotic due to interaction with Jupiter, and they eventually collide with Mars and are removed from circulation.”

From Scientific American