4 ms·

I think it's less "this asteroid belt is unrealistic," and more "I assumed asteroid belts were dense because that's what it's like in movies." For a lot of peo

I think it's less "this asteroid belt is unrealistic," and more "I assumed asteroid belts were dense because that's what it's like in movies." For a lot of people, they know that super nimble spaceships aren't real, but they may have never thought about asteroid belt density. People often see something in media that seems plausible, and assume that's what it's like in reality, even if the media portrayal was way off. I can guarantee it's happened to you at some point.

dylan604 2y ago
The asteroid belt around Sol might be sparse, but what about other solar systems, other galaxies far far away?
- dotancohen 2y ago
  Then gravity would condense it all down into a planet in very short order, geologically speaking. For an example in our own system, see Saturn's rings.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Geologically speaking, sure. But humans don't live in geological timescales: it seems possible that, if humans could somehow explore other star systems on a regular basis, they might come across some systems where there was a relatively recent collision leaving lots of close-together asteroids that haven't yet had enough time to condense into a new body.
    - adastra22 2y ago
      Yes, like Saturn's rings.
    - dotancohen 2y ago
      If such collisions are common, then yes.
- gus_massa 2y ago
  If the density of the asteroid belt is too high, I guess it (slowly) collapses and you get a planet.
- kadoban 2y ago
  A belt like shown in many movies would become a damn black hole with how dense and large they are. They're not just unlike Sol's, they're completely ridiculous.
  - jiggawatts 2y ago
    To be fair, in at least some movies they only say “asteroids” instead of “asteroid belt”. The aftermath of a recent collision between large bodies might be attractive to future spacefarers because it could expose the differentiated insides of planetoids in a convenient high-density but accessible form for mining. So it wouldn’t be entirely unrealistic for “future stories” to be playing out in these rich and dense regions instead of the space equivalent of the middle of a barren desert. A statistically representative locale for a story on Earth would be in the middle of an ocean, but that’s not where most stories come from.
    - andrewflnr 2y ago
      True, but that's not what they usually depict on screen. We see lots of "normal looking", i.e. rounded, well-aged, thoroughly cratered asteroids, neither the fresh shards or glowing/molten material we would expect from a collision. I do like the idea of prospectors diving into the debris of a recent asteroid collision to gather halfway pre-refined resources. With the rarity of asteroid collisions relative to human lifespans, I imagine the response the way deep sea creatures respond to a whale fall, sudden massive availability of resources. I might try to write that someday.
      - jiggawatts 2y ago
        > neither the fresh shards or glowing/molten material we would expect from a collision. That's also an undesirable "area" of space for mining. A too-recent collision would be a dangerous area because of the excessive density. A "just right" area for mining might be a hundred thousands years old, but not tens of millions or older. The terran analogy would be a volcano: Too soon and you're still ankle-deep in lava. Some decades later you have the most fertile land on the planet for your crops. A billion years later it's no different to any other part of the planet and not especially productive. > whale fall That's precisely what I was thinking of! > I might try to write that someday. I'd read that story! It's a ripe context for drama: the luck of discovery, the gold rush, the fight over the territory by rival groups, the "frontier" aspects and lack of civilized law and order, etc...
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  You should ask them.

dylan604 2y ago

The asteroid belt around Sol might be sparse, but what about other solar systems, other galaxies far far away?

dotancohen 2y ago
Then gravity would condense it all down into a planet in very short order, geologically speaking. For an example in our own system, see Saturn's rings.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Geologically speaking, sure. But humans don't live in geological timescales: it seems possible that, if humans could somehow explore other star systems on a regular basis, they might come across some systems where there was a relatively recent collision leaving lots of close-together asteroids that haven't yet had enough time to condense into a new body.
  - adastra22 2y ago
    Yes, like Saturn's rings.
  - dotancohen 2y ago
    If such collisions are common, then yes.
gus_massa 2y ago
If the density of the asteroid belt is too high, I guess it (slowly) collapses and you get a planet.
kadoban 2y ago
A belt like shown in many movies would become a damn black hole with how dense and large they are. They're not just unlike Sol's, they're completely ridiculous.
- jiggawatts 2y ago
  To be fair, in at least some movies they only say “asteroids” instead of “asteroid belt”. The aftermath of a recent collision between large bodies might be attractive to future spacefarers because it could expose the differentiated insides of planetoids in a convenient high-density but accessible form for mining. So it wouldn’t be entirely unrealistic for “future stories” to be playing out in these rich and dense regions instead of the space equivalent of the middle of a barren desert. A statistically representative locale for a story on Earth would be in the middle of an ocean, but that’s not where most stories come from.
  - andrewflnr 2y ago
    True, but that's not what they usually depict on screen. We see lots of "normal looking", i.e. rounded, well-aged, thoroughly cratered asteroids, neither the fresh shards or glowing/molten material we would expect from a collision. I do like the idea of prospectors diving into the debris of a recent asteroid collision to gather halfway pre-refined resources. With the rarity of asteroid collisions relative to human lifespans, I imagine the response the way deep sea creatures respond to a whale fall, sudden massive availability of resources. I might try to write that someday.
    - jiggawatts 2y ago
      > neither the fresh shards or glowing/molten material we would expect from a collision. That's also an undesirable "area" of space for mining. A too-recent collision would be a dangerous area because of the excessive density. A "just right" area for mining might be a hundred thousands years old, but not tens of millions or older. The terran analogy would be a volcano: Too soon and you're still ankle-deep in lava. Some decades later you have the most fertile land on the planet for your crops. A billion years later it's no different to any other part of the planet and not especially productive. > whale fall That's precisely what I was thinking of! > I might try to write that someday. I'd read that story! It's a ripe context for drama: the luck of discovery, the gold rush, the fight over the territory by rival groups, the "frontier" aspects and lack of civilized law and order, etc...
ForOldHack 2y ago
You should ask them.