Roche limit and asteroid belt

[cliquot22]

I read about the recent discovery of a ring system around Quaoar outside the Roche limit. But isn't the asteroid belt outside the Roche limit for the sun? Can the asteroid belt be considered a ring for the sun?

 

[Helio]

I read about the recent discovery of a ring system around Quaoar outside the Roche limit. But isn't the asteroid belt outside the Roche limit for the sun? Can the asteroid belt be considered a ring for the sun?

The asteroids are likely there due to perturbations they experienced from Jupiter. This caused them to crash into one another, preventing planet formation.

The Sun’s Roche limit is well within the orbit of Mercury. Earth’s is only about 12 miles (12k miles), IIRC.

 

[Helio]

It is interesting that the ring's distance is about that of the Lagrange points (L1, L2), but only if Weywot, the moon, is about twice the density of Quaoar, which seems unlikely or, at least, unusual.

Rings at Lagrange points aren't normal, btw, so this is just throwing stuff at this interesting curiosity.

 

[Classical Motion]

The thing that amazed me about the ring images was the helical trajectories or circumference of their orbit. Multi-turn spins as they orbit. I wonder if all the rings in this system do that?

Do the components of the belt do that?

 

[Sam Williams]

Hello, No the asteroid belt cannot be considered a ring for the sun. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter and consists of numerous rocky objects, predominantly asteroids. It is not a continuous ring-like structure, but rather a collection of individual asteroids orbiting the sun. In contrast, a ring system, like the one discovered around Quaoar, typically consists of smaller particles orbiting a central body in a more organized and continuous manner. home bargains portal login