Saturday, March 15, 2014

Why the Asteroid Belt Doesn’t Threaten Spacecraft

Why the Asteroid Belt Doesn’t Threaten Spacecraft:



Artist's impression of the asteroid belt. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech



Artist’s impression of the asteroid belt. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
When you think of the asteroid belt, you probably imagine a region of rock and dust, with asteroids as far as the eye can see.  Such a visual has been popularized in movies, where spaceships must swerve left and right to avoid collisions.  But a similar view is often portrayed in more scientific imagery, such as the artistic rendering above.  Even the first episode of the new Cosmos series portrayed the belt as a dense collection of asteroids. But the reality is very different.  In reality the asteroid belt is less cluttered than often portrayed.  Just how much less might surprise you.(...)
Read the rest of Why the Asteroid Belt Doesn’t Threaten Spacecraft (491 words)


© Brian Koberlein for Universe Today, 2014. |
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