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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.
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 ...
Apophis is no different from other asteroids in that it is a remnant from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. ... Apophis's orbit around the sun brings it ...
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
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.
No vulcanoids, asteroids between the orbit of Mercury and the Sun, have been discovered. [132] [133] As of 2024, one asteroid has been discovered to orbit completely within Venus's orbit, 594913 ꞌAylóꞌchaxnim. [134] Venus-crossing asteroids are those that cross the orbit of Venus. There are 2,809 as of 2015.
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]