Tiffany. And Co Puzzle Piece

Daniel Kirkwood in 1857 first notice that the distribution of asteroids in the main belt of the Solar System was not uniform, seemed to have more missing accumulation and asteroids.

Daniel missing

Kirkwood

These were not located anywhere, but their distances were related in some way with the distance-and time-of Jupiter.


How?

Jupiter has a period (the year) of 11.86 years. There are missing: Distance

period regarding
AU ; year period
              de Júpiter


        2,06       2,96          4:1
        2,50       3,95          3:1
        2,82       4,74          5:2
        2,95       5,08         
7:3 5.93 3.27 2:1

Such relationships between periods is called resonance. For example the last value (5.93 years) corresponds to a 2:1 resonance.

Such relationships between periods is called resonance. For example the last value (5.93 years) corresponds to a 2:1 resonance.

it mean?

for example in these periods are in a round number of times. So, back to the last resonance, the asteroid makes two turns exactly at every 11.86 years, the period of Jupiter.

real distribution of asteroids in the Solar System. On the vertical axis, the number of asteroids x 200 (so that differences are more visible) for Astronomical Unit. On the horizontal axis, the distance from the Sun in AU. Marked the most important resonances.

not appear to be a fluke, and it is not.

For example:

course has something to do with Jupiter. Let us a little about an asteroid that is in the Kirkwood Gap and the other is not:

chose one of 5.93 years (resonance 2:1) and another 4.5 years (no resonance)

resonance:

Suppose that are aligned with the Sun's line is sun, asteroids, Jupiter. Every 11.86 years

will meet again. Means that the gravitational influence of Jupiter is important every 11.86 years. In fact it is so important that every time you forward a little to the asteroid (a few hundred meters to several kilometers).

Over a period of 1 million years, meet again about 84000 times.

Without resonance

We return to the same initial conditions are aligned, but now are not as often. 1 million years suffer close encounters with the giant planet about 19000 times .

This represents 20% of cases occurring in the resonance, and the asteroids are much less disturbed in their orbits.

The Gap or Gaps Kirkwood views from the north of the Solar System.

So Jupiter leads outside the areas of resonance asteroids much more effectively than in areas where no resonance.

also mean that there is no asteroids in the Gap, but are much less.

And elsewhere?

Kikwood already suggested it in the original paper that Saturn's rings , it might be something similar.

Rings with major names and hundreds of divisions visible. The thicker, between the rings "A" and "B" is the Cassini Division.

There is a relationship of this kind between the inner Cassini Division and the satellite Mimas, or the Division of Huygens, also with Mimas (resonance 2:1), but not all divisions may be explained in this way but it is obviously part of the training division.