The Greatest Mysteries of the Asteroid Belt

[link to www.space.com]


Beyond the orbit of Mars, but not as far as Jupiter, lurk the many hundreds of thousands of rocky bodies collectively known as the asteroid belt.

Many solar systems are thought to contain such belts, and science fiction movies and television shows often present these bands as rock-clogged expanses that would challenge any celestial navigator. It may be so, in other systems, but in our asteroid belt, the rocky bodies are actually quite far apart from each other.

Humankind will soon be getting an inside look at this often overlooked bit of celestial real estate, courtesy of NASA's Dawn mission. On Saturday, July 16, after a four-year journey, the Dawn spacecraft will reach Vesta, the second-largest body in the belt. [Photos: Asteroid Vesta and NASA's Dawn]