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The region of the solar system, between 2.0 and 3.3 AU from the Sun, where the vast
majority of asteroid orbits lie. Within the belt, there are both concentrations of orbits,
forming groups and families, and regions that are avoided, known as the Kirkwood gaps.
The proportions of different types of asteroid change markedly through the belt. At
the inner edge, 60 per cent are silicaceous and 10 per cent carbonaceous; at the outer
edge the situation is reversed with 80 per cent carbonaceous and 15 per cent silicaceous.
The belt marks the transition zone between the inner and outer solar system.
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