Asteroid Belt

From Slackerpedia Galactica

An asteroid belt is a bunch of really big rocks orbiting a star. The asteroid belt is believed to have been created in the early days of the solar system as the planets formed. It could also be the wreckage of a former planet that was eventually torn apart by Jupiter's immense gravity.

Some truly sick astronomers also wear them around their waist... It's basically a belt with tiny parts of space dust on it.

Despite what is seen in movies, asteroid belts are very big places. It would be quite hard to hit an asteroid. In fact, we aim for them! Most space probes heading into the outer solar systems have their orbits refined to pass by an asteroid or two when possible. This allows for extra science to come from the mission and also gives engineers a chance to calibrate instruments.

Also known as the Small Solar System Body Belt since the IAU created this term in 2006.

See Asteroid for an advanced explanation on observing these objects.