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The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, ... When the mean orbital period of an asteroid is an integer fraction of the orbital period of ...
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 ]
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]
Scientists from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid have tracked the asteroid's orbit for 21 days and determined its future path. 2024 PT5 is from the Arjuna asteroid belt, which orbits the sun ...
10 Hygiea is a major asteroid located in the main asteroid belt.With a mean diameter of between 425 and 440 km and a mass estimated to be 3% of the total mass of the belt, [11] it is the fourth-largest asteroid in the Solar System by both volume and mass, and is the largest of the C-type asteroids (dark asteroids with a carbonaceous surface) in classifications that use G type for 1 Ceres.
Spectroscopically, the Jupiter trojans mostly are D-type asteroids, which predominate in the outer regions of the asteroid belt. [5] A small number are classified as P or C-type asteroids. [25] Their spectra are red (meaning that they reflect more light at longer wavelengths) or neutral and featureless. [15]
Vesta (minor-planet designation: 4 Vesta) is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of 525 kilometres (326 mi). [10] It was discovered by the German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers on 29 March 1807 [6] and is named after Vesta, the virgin goddess of home and hearth from Roman mythology.
Ceres is a dwarf planet and the largest body in the asteroid belt. [19] As it is cryovolcanic, it has potential for asteroid mining of resources for colonization. Its gravitational pull is stronger than other bodies in the asteroid belt, making surface colonization a more realistic possibility. [citation needed]