Kirkwood gaps

E314582

Kirkwood gaps are regions in the asteroid belt with a noticeably low density of asteroids, caused by orbital resonances with Jupiter.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Kirkwood gaps canonical 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf celestial mechanics phenomenon
feature of the asteroid belt
orbital resonance phenomenon
analogousTo resonant gaps in planetary ring systems
areEvidenceFor gravitational influence of Jupiter on the asteroid belt
importance of mean-motion resonances in planetary systems
canLeadTo injection of asteroids into near-Earth space
transfer of asteroids to planet-crossing orbits
cause orbital resonances with Jupiter
describedBy Daniel Kirkwood
discoveredBy Daniel Kirkwood
discoveryYear 1866
fieldOfStudy dynamical astronomy
orbital dynamics
planetary science
hasCategory Asteroid belt
Celestial mechanics
Orbital resonance
Celestial Mechanics
surface form: Solar System dynamics
hasCause mean-motion resonances with Jupiter
hasEffect depletion of asteroids at certain orbital periods
low density of asteroids at specific semi-major axes
hasExample 2:1 Kirkwood gap near 3.27 astronomical units
3:1 Kirkwood gap near 2.5 astronomical units
5:2 Kirkwood gap near 2.82 astronomical units
influenceOn long-term stability of asteroid orbits
locatedIn Solar System
asteroid belt
mechanism gravitational perturbations from Jupiter
increase of asteroid orbital eccentricity
removal of asteroids from resonant orbits
namedAfter Daniel Kirkwood
namedAfterNationality American
namedAfterOccupation astronomer
observedAs depletions in the distribution of asteroid semi-major axes
observedUsing statistical distribution of known asteroid orbits
occursAt specific semi-major axes in the main asteroid belt
partOf structure of the main asteroid belt
relatedTo Jupiter
asteroid belt
asteroid dynamics
celestial mechanics
mean-motion resonance
typicalResonanceRatios 2:1 with Jupiter
3:1 with Jupiter
5:2 with Jupiter
7:3 with Jupiter

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Daniel Kirkwood knownFor Kirkwood gaps
Daniel Kirkwood hasHonorificEponym Kirkwood gaps