Asteroid Facts
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Rocky leftovers from planet formation.
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The largest is Ceres, approx. diameter 1,000 km. The diameter of Texas is approx. 1,250 km.
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Small asteroids are more common than large asteroids.
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All the asteroids in the solar system wouldn’t add up to even a small terrestrial planet.
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Asteroids rotate but appear to "tumble" because of their irregular shape.
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Asteroids have a stable surface and visible craters.
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Asteroids do not have rings.
Asteroid
In our solar system, an asteroid
1) must be in orbit around the sun,
2)was formed in the inner solar system (most are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter),
3) is irregularly shaped,
4) is composed of rock and metals,
5) and has NOT "cleared the neighborhood" around its orbit of other objects.
Asteroid Orbits
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Most asteroids orbit in a belt between Mars and Jupiter.
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Asteroids in the Asteroid Belt are more spaced out than what is portrayed in the movies.
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Trojan asteroids follow Jupiter’s orbit.
Asteroids with Moons
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Some large asteroids have their own moon.
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Asteroid Ida has a tiny moon named Dactyl.
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Sometimes asteroids are binary, with two roughly equal-sized partners that orbit each other.