All celestial objects found within our Solar System have unique characteristics based on their movement, surface features, atmosphere (if there is one), and locations in space.
Asteroids
- Most asteroids are rocky celestial bodies that orbit in a region in the Solar System known as the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
- Asteroids vary in size and shape. Asteroids range in size from about 329 miles in diameter to less than 33 feet across.
- Movement of asteroids is based on their revolution around the Sun.
- Some asteroids outside the asteroid belt have orbits that cross Earth’s orbit require scientists to carefully monitor their positions.
Asteroid Belt
The Asteroid Belt is located in an area of our Solar System between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt is about 92 million miles thick and contains billions and billions of asteroids.
- The Asteroid Belt may contain many objects, but they are actually spread out over a very large area of space. This has allowed spacecraft to move through this region without hitting anything. The average distance between objects in the Asteroid Belt is so large if you could stand on an asteroid and look around, the next one would likely be too far away to see very well.
- The four largest asteroids in the asteroid belt are Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea. They contain half the mass of the entire belt. The rest of the mass is contained in countless smaller asteroids.
Kuiper Belt
The Kuiper Belt is an area of our Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune, believed to contain many comets, asteroids, and other small celestial bodies including dwarf planets made mostly of ice.
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- Most asteroids are rocky bodies that orbit in a region in the Solar System known as the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter that vary significantly in size and shape.