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Why does the asteroid belt lie between Mars and jupiter?

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Most of these objects, called planetoids or asteroids — meaning "star-like" — orbit between Mars and Jupiter in a grouping known as the Main Asteroid Belt. The Main Asteroid Belt lies more than two-and-a-half times as far as Earth does from the sun. read more

During the formation of the Solar System, a lot of protoplanets and planetesimals existed, but most of these merged to planets or were absorbed or ejected by planets. read more

The asteroid belt encompasses an area between 2 and 4 astronomical units from the Sun. The belt was formed 4.6 million years ago, when either the gravitational stress of Jupiter or a collision likely destroyed a planet or protoplanet roughly half the size of the Moon. read more

And, the asteroid belt today is many times smaller mass-wise to ever have accumulated into a planet, even a Mercury-sized one (despite what some people claim of it being the remnants of an exploded planet). read more

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