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Asteroid Belt Formation (2D)

A 2D top-down companion: watch a Kepler-orbiting asteroid population carve real Kirkwood gaps (3:1, 5:2, 2:1 Jupiter resonances) out of the belt over simulated millennia, with a live density histogram showing the gaps open up.

Space & Astronomy2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

Details

CategorySpace & Astronomy

RenderingCanvas 2D

DifficultyModerate

Target FPS60

ControlsA slider sets the number of asteroids in the belt (200-3000); a Jupiter-mass slider (0.3x-3.0x) controls resonance-kick strength; a simulation-speed slider (0.2x-4.0x) controls time-lapse rate. A restart button reseeds the belt and clears ejected asteroids. The 2D top-down view animates the belt, Mars' and Jupiter's orbits, and a live semi-major-axis density histogram showing the Kirkwood gaps open over time.

asteroid beltkirkwood gapsorbital resonancekepler's third lawjupiter2d

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This 2D top-down companion runs the same Kirkwood-gap physics as the 3D asteroid belt scene: thousands of asteroids on real Kepler orbits between Mars and Jupiter, each following n = 2π/a^1.5, with three resonance bands (3:1, 5:2, 2:1) that eject anything unlucky enough to sit in them. Drag the asteroid-count, Jupiter-mass and time-speed sliders and watch the live density histogram carve out the same three Kirkwood gaps that Daniel Kirkwood first spotted in 1866 — a direct, top-down view of why no planet ever accreted in this zone.

⚙ Under the hood

A 2D top-down companion: watch a Kepler-orbiting asteroid population carve real Kirkwood gaps out of the belt as Jupiter's resonances eject anything caught in them.

asteroid beltkirkwood gapsorbital resonancekepler's third lawjupiter2d

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install