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PIA16212: Scenarios for the Evolution of Asteroid Belts
 Mission:  Spitzer Space Telescope
 Product Size:  2100 x 2429 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Space Telescope Science Institute
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA16212.tif (15.31 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA16212.jpg (616.5 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

This illustration shows three possible scenarios for the evolution of asteroid belts. In the top panel, a Jupiter-size planet migrates through the asteroid belt, scattering material and inhibiting the formation of life on planets. The second scenario shows our solar-system model: a Jupiter-size planet that moves slightly inward but is just outside the asteroid belt. In the third illustration, a large planet does not migrate at all, creating a massive asteroid belt. Material from the hefty asteroid belt would bombard planets, possibly preventing life from evolving.

New research based on an analysis of theoretical models and archival observations, including infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, suggests that the second scenario may also be important for the development of life in other solar systems.

JPL manages the Spitzer Space Telescope mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Science operations are conducted at the Spitzer Science Center at Caltech. Data are archived at the Infrared Science Archive housed at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center at Caltech.

For more information about Spitzer, visit http://spitzer.caltech.edu and http://www.nasa.gov/spitzer.

Image Credit:
NASA/ESA/STScI

Image Addition Date:
2012-11-01