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The asteroid and comet belts orbit the Sun from the inner rocky planets into outer parts of the Solar System, interstellar space. [16] [17] [18] An astronomical unit, or AU, is the distance from Earth to the Sun, which is approximately 150 billion meters (93 million miles). [19] Small Solar System objects are classified by their orbits: [20] [21]
The Phocaea family orbit between 2.25 and 2.5 AU from the Sun. [102] Skirting the outer edge of the asteroid belt is the Cybele group, orbiting between 3.3 and 3.5 AU. These have a 7:4 orbital resonance with Jupiter. The Hilda family orbit between 3.5 and 4.2 AU with relatively circular orbits and a stable 3:2 orbital resonance with Jupiter ...
The majority of main belt asteroids follow slightly elliptical, stable orbits, revolving in the same direction as the Earth and taking from three to six years to complete a full circuit of the Sun. [4] Asteroids have historically been observed from Earth. The first close-up observation of an asteroid was made by the Galileo spacecraft.
A diagram shows its orbit around Earth, the sun and several other planets nearer the sun in the Solar System. ... NASA tracks close approaches and calculates the odds of those space rocks ...
Called a "mini-moon" of sorts by some, it temporarily entered Earth's orbit on Sept. 29 from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which follows a similar orbital path around the sun as the Earth.
Euler diagram showing the types of bodies orbiting the Sun. The following is a list of Solar System objects by orbit, ordered by increasing distance from the Sun. Most named objects in this list have a diameter of 500 km or more. The Sun, a spectral class G2V main-sequence star; The inner Solar System and the terrestrial planets. 2021 PH27; Mercury
Asteroids usually have a prograde orbit around the Sun. Only a few dozen asteroids in retrograde orbits are known. Some asteroids with retrograde orbits may be burnt-out comets, [16] but some may acquire their retrograde orbit due to gravitational interactions with Jupiter. [17]
STEREO A (Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory – Ahead) made its closest pass to L 4 in September 2009, on its orbit around the Sun, slightly faster than Earth. [14] OSIRIS-REx passed near the L4 point and performed a survey for asteroids between 9 and 20 February 2017.