Also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, it is the world's longest and oldest canal, stretching over 1,100 miles and connecting Beijing to Hangzhou.
Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt, is so massive that it's classified as a dwarf planet. It has a diameter of about 590 miles (940 kilometres) and is unique because it contains a significant amount of water ice beneath its surface.
The asteroids in the belt come in various sizes, ranging from small rocky fragments to larger bodies. While some are only a few meters in diameter, others can be hundreds of kilometres across.
Despite the common perception of a densely packed region, the asteroid belt is actually quite vast and relatively empty. The asteroids are separated by significant distances, making collisions between them rare.
The asteroids in the belt are thought to be remnants of material that never formed into a planet due to the gravitational influence of Jupiter. This prevented them from coalescing into a larger body.
NASA's Dawn spacecraft was sent to study two of the largest asteroids in the belt: Vesta and Ceres. The mission provided valuable insights into the geological and compositional diversity of these bodies.
The asteroid belt has drawn interest for its potential resources, including valuable metals and water ice. Some envision future mining operations to extract these resources for use in space exploration and industry.