asteroid belt

[ as-tuh-roid belt ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. the region in space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, containing the greatest population of asteroids in our solar system: comprising about half the mass of the asteroid belt are its four largest asteroids, namely, Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, and Hygieia.

asteroid belt

1. A region of the solar system between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter . Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt.

Word History and Origins

Origin of asteroid belt¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

The team believes it may have been formed in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, but got knocked out by the gravitational pulls of different planets that brought it eventually to its current orbit.

From Popular-Science

Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres was considered a planet after its 1801 discovery, too.

From Science News

It’s often said that Ceres was demoted after astronomers found the rest of the bodies in the asteroid belt.

From Science News

Much of the rest probably derive from collisions of objects in the asteroid belt.

From Science News

Astronomically speaking, most of the stuff that bashes Earth comes from close by, in the inner part of the asteroid belt, the closest source of loose objects.

From Nautilus

The Asteroid Belt in the Solar System has many such gaps, created by the gravity of the Sun and Jupiter.

From The Daily Beast

A majority of these meteorites comes from collisions in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

From The Daily Beast

The company was a blue-chip mining operation working the beryllium-rich asteroid belt out of San Francisco.

From Project Gutenberg

The blond-haired cadet left the room, and Strong wearily turned back to study the chart of the search in the asteroid belt.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom quickly glanced around to locate his position by the stars and saw that he was close to the asteroid belt.

From Project Gutenberg

We're too near the asteroid belt to use the Polaris without radar, so we'll search in jet boats.

From Project Gutenberg

Repeatedly, ships were attacked on the fringe of the asteroid belt and stripped of armor, food supplies, and valuables.

From Project Gutenberg