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ASTEROIDS Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta—the largest at about 329 miles (530
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are small, rocky fragments left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.
Properties of Asteroids INTRODUCTION About 4.56 billion years ago, the early Solar System consisted of a rotating disk of gas and dust, called the proto-planetary disk, revolving around the Sun. Planets formed from this disk, and different populations of small bodies, in particular the main belt asteroids between the orbits
Example Asteroids. Lutetia, about 130 km long, photographed from just over 3000 by ESA’s Rosetta probe flyby in July 2010. ESA 2010 MPS for OSIRIS Team. Vesta. 2nd largest asteroid A surviving protoplanet ~530 km across Dry rocky surface with lava flows, over an iron-nickel core. Courtesy: NASA Dawn probe July 2011. Orbits of Asteroids.
the broad range of topics covered, including asteroid and meteorite classi cation, chemical and physical properties of asteroids, observational techniques, cratering, the discovery of asteroids, and how they are named.
Brief Guide to Asteroids, Comets, Meteors and Meteorites. What is an asteroid? Small rocky-icy or metallic non-spherical bodies that orbit the sun; most are in orbit between Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroid Examples. Large asteroids, like Vesta ( 500 km) are more or less round. Itokawa, shown here (500m x 300m x 200m) is more of a \rubble pile".
