The Asteroid Belt: Cosmic Playground of Rocks and Ice

Imagine a vast highway in space filled with millions of rocky travelers. That's the asteroid belt! Located between Mars and Jupiter, it's a region where countless asteroids orbit the Sun. Most of these space rocks are made of rock and metal, but some also contain ice. Scientists believe these asteroids are leftover pieces from the early solar system that never formed into planets. The largest asteroid in the belt is Ceres, which is so big it's classified as a dwarf planet! Despite what you might think from movies, the asteroid belt isn't jam-packed with rocks. In fact, there's plenty of space between them, so spacecraft can navigate through it safely, like a cosmic dance.