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Sizes are not to scale. An asteroid is a minor planet —an object that is neither a true planet nor an identified comet — that orbits within the inner Solar System. They are rocky, metallic, or icy bodies with no atmosphere, classified as C-type (carbonaceous), M-type (metallic), or S-type (silicaceous). The size and shape of asteroids vary ...
An asteroid spectral type is assigned to asteroids based on their reflectance spectrum, color, and sometimes albedo. These types are thought to correspond to an asteroid's surface composition. For small bodies that are not internally differentiated, the surface and internal compositions are presumably similar, while large bodies such as Ceres ...
C-type (carbonaceous / ˌkɑːrbəˈneɪʃəs /) asteroids are the most common variety, forming around 75% of known asteroids. [1] They are volatile-rich and distinguished by a very low albedo because their composition includes a large amount of carbon, in addition to rocks and minerals. They have an average density of about 1.7 g/cm3.
Absolute magnitude (H) 6.21 [3] 16 Psyche (/ ˈsaɪkiː / SY-kee) is a large M-type asteroid, which was discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, on 17 March 1852 and named after the Greek goddess Psyche. [10] The prefix "16" signifies that it was the sixteenth minor planet in order of discovery.
Standard asteroid physical characteristics. Appearance. hide. For most numbered asteroids, almost nothing is known apart from a few physical parameters and orbital elements. Some physical characteristics can only be estimated. The physical data is determined by making certain standard assumptions.
Deconvolved with MISTRAL algorithm. Main-belt asteroids > 200 km that were not imaged are (451) Patientia, (65) Cybele and (107) Camilla. Trojan (624) Hektor may also be in this size range. VLT/SPHERE images of a large number of asteroids 100 to 210 km in diameter, to scale. (10) Hygiea, (31) Euphrosyne and (8) Flora have collisional families ...
Pallas (minor-planet designation: 2 Pallas) is the third-largest asteroid in the Solar System by volume and mass. It is the second asteroid to have been discovered, after Ceres, and is likely a remnant protoplanet. Like Ceres, it is believed to have a mineral composition similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, though significantly less ...
While the size of a very small fraction of these asteroids is known to better than 1%, from radar observations, from images of the asteroid surface, or from stellar occultations, the diameter of the vast majority of near-Earth asteroids has only been estimated on the basis of their brightness and a representative asteroid surface reflectivity ...