@thunkii.bsky.social

@thunkii.bsky.social

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Plot of the position in space, as of the instant of midnight ephemeris time 15 May 2026, of 1,509,325 asteroids. The size of each circle represents the square root of the asteroid's diameter, and is not to scale with their orbital distance. Types of asteroids are color-coded; white are main-belt asteroids, pink are Trojan asteroids ('Greeks' at L4 and 'Trojans' at L5 lagrange points), purple are Hilda asteroids, orange and yellow are Mars-crossing and near-Earth asteroids, and green dots are comets. The inner planets and Jupiter are labeled in gold. The top chart represents a view top-down into the plane of the solar system, and the bottom chart is a side view.
A view from above the plane of the solar system (top) or in its plane (bottom) onto the asteroid belt, showing 1.5 million asteroids to scale with each other, with their positions as of 15 May 2026 (but greatly enlarged compared to their orbits). The inner planets and Sun is shown in gold, while the main belt is visible as a donut-shaped cloud in white, and Trojan asteroids are in pink clouds 60 deg ahead or behind Jupiter. Other categories of asteroids are seen on closer inspection, including the Hildas triangle (purple), outer-belt/Cybele asteroids (light blue), Hungarias (orange), Amors and Mars-crossers (yellow), and near-Earth asteroids (red), as well as scattered comets (green).
A plot of eccentricity vs semi-major axis (in AU) and orbital period (in years) of 1,249,051 asteroids in the asteroid belt. The sizes of each circle correspond to the asteroid's diameter. The main belt is shown in various shades of white, with Hungaria asteroids in orange and Cybele asteroids in blue. Orbital resonances with Jupiter are marked in red, and most of these resonances either show no asteroids or a vertical line of 'trapped' asteroids.
A plot of 1,249,051 asteroids within the asteroid belt, showing (proper) inclination vs semi-major axis (in AU) and orbital period (in years). The size of the circles is proportional to the diameter of each asteroid. The main asteroid belt is shown in shades of white, while Hungaria asteroids are in orange and the Cybele asteroids are in blue. Red markers note the position of the 1:4, 1:3, 3:8, 2:5, 3:7, 4:9, 5:11, 1:2, and 3:5 orbital resonances with Jupiter.