Asteroids

What is an asteroid?

Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun. Although
asteroids orbit the sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets.

Where did asteroids come from?

Asteroids are left over from the formation of our solar system. Our solar
system began about 4.6 billion years ago when a big cloud of gas and dust
collapsed. When this happened, most of the material fell to the center of
the cloud and formed the sun.

Some of the condensing dust in the cloud became planets. The objects in
the asteroid belt never had the chance to be incorporated into planets.
They are leftovers from that time long ago when planets formed.

what asteroid hit the dinosaurs?

A giant meteor that struck the Yucatán Peninsula 66
million years ago is the leading explanation for the
demise of the dinosaurs.
Are all asteroids the same?

No way! Because asteroids formed in different locations at different

distances from the sun, no two asteroids are alike. Here are a few ways
that they differ:

Asteroids aren’t all round like planets. They have jagged and irregular
shapes.

Some asteroids are hundreds of miles in diameter, but many more are as
small as pebbles.

Most asteroids are made of different kinds of rocks, but some have clays
or metals, such as nickel and iron.

Mathilde, Gaspra, and Ida are three asteroids that have been imaged by
NASA spacecraft. In this image, you can see that asteroids come in a
variety shapes and sizes.
What can we learn from asteroids?

Since asteroids formed at the same time as other objects in our solar
system, these space rocks can give scientists lots of information about
the history of planets and the sun. Scientists can learn about asteroids
by studying meteorites: tiny bits of asteroids that have flown through
our atmosphere and landed on Earth’s surface.

Several NASA space missions have also flown by and observed asteroids.
The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landed on Eros, an asteroid near Earth, in
2001. Then, the Dawn spacecraft traveled to the asteroid belt in 2011 to
orbit and study the second largest object there, Vesta. Vesta is so large
it's like a small planet. In 2012 Dawn left Vesta and went into orbit
around the largest object in the asteroid belt, dwarf planet Ceres.

In 2016, NASA launched the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to study an asteroid

near Earth named Bennu and bring a sample of the asteroid back to Earth!
Facts About Asteroids
1.Asteroids aren’t the only things that hit Earth. Each day, more than
100 tons of material from asteroids and comets falls toward Earth. Most
of it is destroyed by friction as it passes through our atmosphere. If
something DOES hit the ground, it is known as a meteorite.

2. While asteroid impacts were more common in the past, they aren’t as
frequent today.

3.An asteroid impact some 65 million years ago contributed to the

extinction of the dinosaurs. (It was one of several factors that affected
all life on Earth at that time.)

4.Earth suffers an impact from an object the size of a football field

about once every 2,000 years.

5.A car-sized meteoroid (a piece of asteroid) falls into Earth’s

atmosphere about once a year. The result is a beautiful fireball, but the
meteoroid usually burns up before reaching the ground.

6.Asteroids are rich in precious metals and other metals, as well as

water.

7.Some asteroids are actually blown-out comets. The ices are gone, and
all that’s left is the rocky material.

8.Some asteroids have moons of their own!

9.Most asteroids orbit the Sun in the Asteroid Belt, which lies between
Mars and Jupiter.