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The orbital distribution of the asteroids reaches a maximum at an eccentricity around 0.07 and an inclination below 4°. [67] Thus, although a typical asteroid has a relatively circular orbit and lies near the plane of the ecliptic , some asteroid orbits can be highly eccentric or travel well outside the ecliptic plane.
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 asteroid, named 2002 NV16 after the year it was discovered, measures about 177 meters or 580 feet across — around the same height as a 50-story skyscraper.
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.
This is a label given to space rocks larger than about 150m, whose orbits around the sun bring them within about 48 million km (30 million miles) of Earth. Next four asteroids approaching Earth (Nasa)
Asteroids number in the hundreds of thousands. For longer lists, see list of exceptional asteroids, list of asteroids, or list of Solar System objects by size. Asteroid moons; A number of smaller groups distinct from the asteroid belt; The outer Solar System with the giant planets, their satellites, trojan asteroids and some minor planets. Jupiter
An asteroid first spotted in December has a 1.2% chance of hitting Earth in 2032. Scientists are tracking the space rock to learn more about its size and trajectory.
Asteroids are given minor planet numbers, but not all minor planets are asteroids. Minor planet numbers are also given to objects of the Kuiper belt , which is similar to the asteroid belt but farther out (around 30–60 AU), whereas asteroids are mostly between 2–3 AU from the Sun or at the orbit of Jupiter 5 AU from the Sun.