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253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. C-type (carbonaceous / ˌ k ɑːr b ə ˈ n eɪ ʃ ə s /) 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.
There is increasing interest in identifying asteroids whose orbits cross Earth's, and that could, given enough time, collide with Earth. The three most important groups of near-Earth asteroids are the Apollos, Amors, and Atens. The near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros had been discovered as long ago as 1898, and the 1930s brought a flurry of similar ...
Earth has a dynamic atmosphere, which sustains Earth's surface conditions and protects it from most meteoroids and UV-light at entry. It has a composition of primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Water vapor is widely present in the atmosphere, forming clouds that cover most of the planet.
Astronomers believe that the impact of asteroids crashing into our planet may have helped deliver water and other elements to early Earth, so finding evidence of water on asteroids could support ...
The layers of the Earth, a differentiated planetary body. In planetary science, planetary differentiation is the process by which the chemical elements of a planetary body accumulate in different areas of that body, due to their physical or chemical behavior (e.g. density and chemical affinities).
The issue of asteroids versus comets reemerged with observations of active asteroids- that is, emission from small bodies in what were considered asteroidal orbits, not comet-like orbits (high eccentricity and inclination). This includes both Centaurs, past the snow line, and main belt objects, inside the line and previously assumed dry.
"While more than 70,000 meteorites are known, only 6% had been clearly identified by their composition as coming from the moon, Mars, or Vesta, one of the largest asteroids in the main asteroid belt.
[155] [156] [157] As carbonaceous types are the majority of asteroids, [158] [159] [160] but only a few percent of recovered meteorites, [14] selection/filtering effects must be severe. Aside from the diversity of CMs, and the diversity of C-asteroid types and subtypes (besides the asteroids themselves ), the question of parentage is very open ...