The Kirkwood gaps are regularly spaced gaps in the asteroid distribution.What causes the gaps to appear?
A) The pressure of the solar wind is especially strong at these locations, evacuating asteroids out of them.
B) They are regions where gravitational pull from Mars is overcome by gravitational pull from Jupiter.
C) They are regions where an object and Jupiter would regularly line up during their orbits, causing the object to resonate with Jupiter's gravity until it leaves that orbit.
D) They are regions between Jupiter and Saturn where the combined effect of both planets' gravity prevents objects from orbiting there.
E) Asteroids on orbits within the gaps would be moving too fast to be in a stable orbit.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Kirkwood gaps are caused by orbital resonances with Jupiter. When an asteroid's orbital period is a simple fraction of Jupiter's, the repeated gravitational influence can alter the asteroid's orbit, creating gaps.

The Kirkwood Gaps Are Regularly Spaced Gaps in the Asteroid