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The asteroid belt is a torus -shaped region in the Solar System, centered on the Sun and roughly spanning the space between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets.
The four largest asteroids constitute half the mass of the asteroid belt. Ceres is the only asteroid that appears to have a plastic shape under its own gravity and hence the only one that is a dwarf planet. [74] It has a much higher absolute magnitude than the other asteroids, of around 3.32, [75] and may possess a surface layer of ice. [76]
Meteorite. The 60- tonne, 2.7 m-long (8.9 ft) Hoba meteorite in Namibia is the largest known intact meteorite. [1] A meteorite is a rock that originated in outer space and has fallen to the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object enters the atmosphere, various factors such as friction, pressure, and chemical interactions with the ...
Ceres is the largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt. [16] It has been classified as a C‑type or carbonaceous asteroid [16] and, due to the presence of clay minerals, as a G-type asteroid. [60] It has a similar, but not identical, composition to that of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. [61]
The Taurids are an annual meteor shower, associated with the comet Encke.The Taurids are actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The Southern Taurids originated from Comet Encke, while the Northern Taurids originated from the asteroid 2004 TG 10, possibly a large fragment of Encke due to its similar orbital parameters.
A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). [2] This definition applies to the object's orbit around the Sun, rather than its current position, thus an object with such an orbit is considered an ...
C-type asteroid. 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. ...
Active asteroid. Active asteroids are small Solar System bodies that have asteroid -like orbits but show comet -like visual characteristics. [1] That is, they show a coma, tail, or other visual evidence of mass-loss (like a comet), but their orbits remain within Jupiter 's orbit (like an asteroid). [2][3] These bodies were originally designated ...