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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Solar System & Planets

Asteroid belt

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, asteroid belt means: The region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where most of the solar system's asteroids orbit the Sun.

In Turkish: asteroit kuşağı

How it is used

Often called 'the main belt'. Science fiction shows it crowded with rocks, but the asteroids are actually far apart and spacecraft cross it safely. Its largest object is the dwarf planet Ceres.

Example sentences

  1. The Dawn spacecraft visited Vesta and Ceres, the two largest bodies in the asteroid belt.

  2. The total mass of the asteroid belt is only a few percent of the Moon's mass.

Common collocations

  • the main asteroid belt
  • in the asteroid belt
  • between Mars and Jupiter
  • asteroidA small rocky or metallic body that orbits the Sun. Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
  • dwarf planetA round object that orbits the Sun but has not cleared other objects from its orbit. Pluto, Ceres and Eris are well-known examples.
  • Kuiper BeltA wide ring of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune, about 30 to 50 AU from the Sun. Pluto and other dwarf planets orbit there, and many short-period comets come from it.
  • solar systemThe Sun and everything that orbits it: eight planets and their moons, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, dust and gas.

More terms: Solar System & Planets

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