By Jove! Distribution of the Asteroid Belt Reveals Giant Planets' Orbital Migration

The asteroid belt surrounds the inner solar system like a rocky, ring-shaped moat, extending out from the orbit of Mars to that of Jupiter. But there are voids in that moat, most notably where the orbital influence of Jupiter is especially potent; any asteroid unlucky enough to venture into one of those so-called Kirkwood gaps (named for mathematician Daniel Kirkwood) will be perturbed and ejected from the cozy confines of the belt, often winding up on a collision course with one of the inner, rocky planets (such as Earth) or the moon. [More]

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