system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Is the Asteroid Belt in our Solar System 'flat' or does it cover 360 degrees around Mars?

This may be an absurdly dumb question, but just curious

So was wondering - is the asteroid belt in our solar system flat like the belt of rocks around Saturn or does it basically cover 360 degrees around the area between Mars and Jupiter?  I know the asteroids are very far apart from each other, but was curious if they coalesced into a "flat" formation like Saturn's ring or are they in every single direction?

Thank you for your time!
gpt
Most asteroids orbit within 30° of the ecliptic plane, so they don't form a razor sharp plane like Saturn's rings or a sphere.  It's somewhat of a toroidal (donut) shaped distribution, with higher density at low inclinations.