This is planetary radio. Welcome back everyone. I'm Matt Kaplan. Accomplished planetary scientist, popular writer of fiction and non-fiction, and a terrific

artist. Dr. Bill Hartman may have earned the right to be called a Renaissance man, a term that is often applied to him.

The author of Mars Underground and most recently, Cities of Gold will join us on this

week's planetary radio.

Later it will be water water everywhere on Mars but not a liquid drop to

drink when we rejoin Bruce Betts. Bruce will also unveil this week's trivia contest question. First up though Emily takes us to the asteroid

belt with questions and answers. Look up in the sky it's this week's planetary radio. Hi, I'm Emily Lochuwala with questions and answers.

A listener from Greece asked us, what can that asteroid belt between Mars and

Jupiter be? Is it a destroyed planet? We gave this question to Dr. Richard Binsle, a planetary

scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

When Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first asteroid series in 1801, there was great joy in finding

what many had considered to be a missing planet in the large gap between Mars and Jupiter.

But Joy turned to dismay when Heinrich Olbers found a second asteroid palace in 1802.

Olbers reasoned that the missing planet must actually be in pieces, an idea confirmed as more asteroids were discovered.

Today, we know of more than 15,000 asteroids.

Now we have a better understanding of the physical nature of the asteroid belt and the idea of a destroyed planet just doesn't fit the facts.

I'll return to explain how the asteroid belt actually formed in a few minutes.

So Bill Hartman, do you ever get tired of being called a Renaissance man?

Uh, yeah, I guess so.

Well, say, if I'm called a Renaissance man, too much, I just turn around and start something new right?

But that just confirms the diagnosis doesn't it?

We are talking with Bill Hartman and you're at your home or specifically your your studio at your home?

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