The gravitational pull of Jupiter and the Sun. Mars would have a slight influence.
Jupiter
There certainly is enough material in the asteroid belt to form another planet, however the immense gravity of Jupiter prevented a planet from forming.
Currently the combined mass of all the asteroids in the asteroid belt is much less than that of any planet, though there were probably many more asteroids in the belt when the solar system was young. One of the leading hypotheses is that gravitational disturbances from Jupiter prevented a planet from forming where the asteroid belt is.
scientists theorize that it was jupiters gravity that kept it from forming
The asteroid belt is not in Jupiter.
the gravitational forces from Jupiter's powerful gravity disrupted the process of planet formation in the asteroid belt region. This prevented the mass of material in the asteroid belt from coalescing into a planet. Additionally, the gravitational interactions between Jupiter and the material in the asteroid belt prevented a single planet from forming.
Depends which way you are heading :-) Mars --> Asteroid Belt <-- Jupiter
No planet ever existed where the asteroid belt is. The mass is insufficient for a planet to have formed from all that debris.
Jupiter is behind the asteroid belt
Uranus is located outside the asteroid belt, further away from the Sun than the asteroid belt. It is the seventh planet from the Sun in our solar system.
No. The asteroid belt is an area where there are more asteroids than in other parts of the solar system It is not a planet, nor is there enough mass in the asteroid belt to form a whole planet.
The Planet Jupiter is between the planet Saturn and the asteroid belt. On the other side of the asteroid belt is the planet Mars.