Some astronomers have argued that Thule's present orbit is the natural result of the force of Jupiter on a body orbiting at exactly the distance from the Sun Thule does, in the same way (though with the reverse effect) as the Kirkwood gaps in the more closer parts of the asteroid belt. It could thus be that the resonance which holds Thule in a very low-eccentricity orbit serves to eject other smaller bodies whose distance from the Sun is only a bit different from that of Thule itself.