Asteroid - Wikipedia
An asteroid is a minor planet —an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet —that orbits within the inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids).
Asteroid Facts - Science@NASA
Nov 3, 2024 · Scientists can learn a great deal about an asteroid’s orbit, rotation, size, shape, and metal concentration. Asteroid Classifications. Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits. The belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 ...
Asteroid | Definition, Size, & Facts | Britannica
6 days ago · Asteroid, any of a host of small bodies, about 1,000 km (600 miles) or less in diameter, that orbit the Sun primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in a nearly flat ring called the asteroid belt. Hundreds of thousands of asteroids are known.
Eyes on Asteroids - NASA/JPL
Explore the 3D world of Asteroids, Comets and NEOs. Learn about past and future missions, tracking and predicting orbits, and close approaches to Earth.
In Depth | Asteroids - NASA Solar System Exploration
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current known asteroid count is: . Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting our Sun between Mars and …
Asteroid Fast Facts - NASA
Mar 31, 2014 · About once a year, an automobile-sized asteroid hits Earth’s atmosphere, creates an impressive fireball, and burns up before reaching the surface. Every 2,000 years or so, a meteoroid the size of a football field hits Earth and causes significant damage to the area.
Study Finds Earth’s Small Asteroid Visitor Likely Chunk of ...
4 days ago · Asteroid Lunar Studies. The discovery of 2024 PT5 doubles the number of known asteroids thought to originate from the Moon. Asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewa was found in 2016 with an Earth-like orbit around the Sun, indicating that it may also have been ejected from the lunar surface after a large impact. As telescopes become more sensitive to ...