Solar System Facts: A Guide to Things Orbiting Our Sun

Our solar system is a vast place, with lots of mostly empty space between
planets. But out there are comets, asteroids and more rocky, frozen objects
(including dwarf planets) yet to be discovered in the Kuiper Belt and Oort
Cloud. The solar system is made up of the sun and everything that orbits around it,
including planets, moons, asteroids, comets and meteoroids. It extends from the sun,
called Sol by the ancient Romans, and goes past the four inner planets, through the
Asteroid Belt to the four gas giants and on to the disk-shaped Kuiper Belt and far
beyond to the teardrop-shaped heliopause. Scientists estimate that the edge of the
solar system is about 9 billion miles (15 billion kilometers) from the sun. Beyond the
heliopause lies the giant, spherical Oort Cloud, which is thought to surround the solar
system.

Discovery
For millennia, astronomers have followed points of light that seemed to move among
the stars. The ancient Greeks named them planets, meaning "wanderers." Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn were known in antiquity, and the invention of the
telescope added the Asteroid Belt, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and many of these worlds'
moons. The dawn of the space age saw dozens of probes launched to explore our
system, an adventure that continues today. Only one spacecraft so far, Voyager 1, has
crossed the threshold into interstellar space.

The discovery of Eris kicked off a rash of new discoveries of dwarf planets, and
eventually led to the International Astronomical Union revising the definition of a
"planet." The revision changed Pluto's status from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, a
decision that remains controversial – especially after the New Horizons mission found
immense geological variety on the world in 2015. [Infographic: Structure of the Solar
System]
Astronomers are now hunting for another planet in our solar system, a true ninth planet,
after evidence of its existence was unveiled on Jan. 20, 2016. The so-called "Planet
Nine," as scientists are calling it, is about 10 times the mass of Earth and 5,000 times
the mass of Pluto.
Formation
Many scientists think our solar system formed from a giant, rotating cloud of gas and
dust known as the solar nebula. As the nebula collapsed because of its gravity, it spun
faster and flattened into a disk. Most of the material was pulled toward the center to
form the sun. Other particles within the disk collided and stuck together to form asteroid-
sized objects named as planetesimals, some of which combined to become the
asteroids, comets, moons and planets.
The solar wind from the sun was so powerful that it swept away most of the lighter
elements, such as hydrogen and helium, from the innermost planets, leaving behind
mostly small, rocky worlds. The solar wind was much weaker in the outer regions,
however, resulting in gas giants made up mostly of hydrogen and helium.
The sun
The sun is by far the largest object in our solar system, containing 99.8 percent of the
solar system's mass. It sheds most of the heat and light that makes life possible on
Earth and possibly elsewhere. Planets orbit the sun in oval-shaped paths called
ellipses, with the sun slightly off-center of each ellipse. NASA has a fleet of spacecraft
observing the sun to learn more about its composition, and to make better predictions
about solar activity and its effect on Earth.

Inner solar system

The four inner four planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars — are made up mostly
of iron and rock. They are known as terrestrial or earthlike planets because of their
similar size and composition. Earth has one natural satellite — the moon — and Mars
has two moons — Deimos and Phobos.
Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt. Asteroids are minor planets, and
scientists estimate there are more than 750,000 of them with diameters larger than
three-fifths of a mile (1 km) and millions of smaller asteroids. The dwarf planet Ceres,
about 590 miles (950 km) in diameter, resides here. A number of asteroids have orbits
that take them closer into the solar system that sometimes lead them to collide with
Earth or the other inner planets.
Earth is surrounded by a flotilla of spacecraft, and Mars has been visited by many
spacecraft as well. Some of the more prominent Martian missions include the Curiosity
rover, the Opportunity and Spirit rovers, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (which takes
high-resolution pictures from orbit), and the Viking landers and rovers. Venus has been
explored by American, European and Soviet spacecraft over the decades. Mercury has
been host to several flybys and two-long term missions: MESSENGER (now concluded)
and BepiColombo (expected to launch in 2018).

Outer solar system

The outer planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranusand Neptune — are giant worlds with thick
outer layers of gas. Between these planets, they have dozens of moons with a variety of
compositions, ranging from rocky to icy to even volcanic (such as in the case of Jupiter's
Io.) Nearly all the planets' mass is made up of hydrogen and helium, giving them
compositions like that of the sun. Beneath these outer layers, they have no solid
surfaces — the pressure from their thick atmospheres liquefy their insides, although
they might have rocky cores. Rings of dust, rock, and ice encircle all these giants, with
Saturn's being the most famous.
Comets are often known as dirty snowballs, and consist mainly of ice and rock. When a
comet's orbit takes it close to the sun, some of the ice in its central nucleus turns into
gas that shoots out of the comet's sunlit side, which the solar wind carries outward to
form into a long tail. Short-period comets that complete their orbits in less than 200
years are thought to originate from the disk-shaped Kuiper Belt, while long-period
comets that take more than 200 years to return are thought to come from the
spherical Oort Cloud.
Jupiter and Saturn have each been visited by several spacecraft, and were also host to
long-term missions including Juno and Galileo at Jupiter, and Cassini at Saturn. Uranus
and Neptune, however, have only been seen during one spacecraft flyby — that of
Voyager 2 in the 1980s. Some scientists are working on creating a Uranus or Neptune
orbiter to fly there in the 2030s or so. Scientists do observations from the ground as
well, to track the long-term changes in weather and cloud formations in the gas giants.

Trans-Neptunian region
Astronomers had long suspected that a band of icy material known as the Kuiper Belt
existed past the orbit of Neptune extending from about 30 to 55 times the distance of
Earth to the sun, and from the last decade of the 20th century up to now, they have
found more than a thousand of such objects. Scientists estimate the Kuiper Belt is likely
home to hundreds of thousands of icy bodies larger than 60 miles (100 km) wide, as
well as an estimated trillion or more comets.
Pluto, now considered a dwarf planet, dwells in the Kuiper Belt. It is not alone — recent
additions include Makemake, Haumea and Eris. Another Kuiper Belt object
dubbed Quaoar is probably massive enough to be considered a dwarf planet, but it has
not been classified as such yet. Sedna, which is about three-fourths the size of Pluto, is
the first dwarf planet discovered in the Oort Cloud. NASA's New Horizons mission
performed history's first flyby of the Pluto system on July 14, 2015, and continues to
explore the Kuiper Belt. New Horizons will fly by the object 2014 MU69 on Jan. 1,
2019. [Related: New Horizons' Pluto Flyby: Latest News, Images and Video]
If Planet Nine exists, it orbits the sun at a distance that is 20 times farther out than the
orbit of Neptune. (The orbit of Neptune is 2.7 billion miles from the sun at its closest
point.) The strange world's orbit is about 600 times farther from the sun than the Earth's
orbit is from the star. Scientists have not actually seen Planet Nine directly, and some
astronomers debate its existence, which was inferred by its gravitational effects on other
objects in the Kuiper Belt.
Past the Kuiper Belt is the very edge of the solar system, the heliosphere, a vast,
teardrop-shaped region of space containing electrically charged particles given off by
the sun. Many astronomers think that the limit of the heliosphere, known as the
heliopause, is about 9 billion miles (15 billion km) from the sun.
The Oort Cloud lies well past the Kuiper Belt, and theoretically extends between 5 and
100,000 astronomical units (AU), the distance between the sun and Earth (about
93,000,000 miles or 150 million kilometers), and is home to up to 2 trillion icy bodies,
according to NASA.
Additional reporting by Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor
 THE MOON
Earth's Moon is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot.

The Latest

NASA Adds Events to Celebration of 50th Anniversary of Historic Moon Landing

The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the Moon makes Earth a
more livable planet by moderating our home planet's wobble on its axis,
leading to a relatively stable climate. It also causes tides, creating a rhythm
that has guided humans for thousands of years. The Moon was likely formed
after a Mars-sized body collided with Earth.

Our moon is the fifth largest of the 190+ moons orbiting planets in our solar
system.
Earth's only natural satellite is simply called "the Moon" because people didn't
know other moons existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting
Jupiter in 1610.
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It goes around the Earth at a distance of
about 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers).

3
LOCKED UP

The Earth and Moon are tidally-locked. Their rotations are so in sync we only see one
side of the Moon all the time. Human's didn't see the lunar far side until a Soviet
spaecraft flew past in 1959.

VIEWING COPERNICUS

4
CAN STAND ON IT

The Moon is a rocky, solid-surface body with much of its surface cratered and pitted
from impacts.

5
BRING A SPACESUIT

The Moon has a very thin and tenuous atmosphere called an exosphere. It is not
breathable.

6
MOONLESS

The Moon has no moons.

7
RINGLESS

The Moon has no rings.

8
 MANY VISITORS

More than 105 robotic spacecraft have been launched to explore the Moon. It is the only
celestial body beyond Earth—so far—visited by human beings.

9
POTENTIAL FOR LIFE?

The Moon's weak atmosphere and its lack of liquid water cannot support life as we
know it.

10
MOONWALKERS

Apollo astronauts brought back a total of 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar rocks and
soil to Earth. We are still studying them.

APOLLO 11 BOOTPRINT

Artemis: Return to the Moon

NASA's Artemis program will send the first woman and the next man to the
Moon and develop a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

FAQ: What is a Lunar Eclipse?

A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Africa and the Central Pacific on July
16, 2019 (Viewing Guide). During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the
Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling on the Moon. There are two
kinds of lunar eclipses:

 A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides
of Earth.
 A partial lunar eclipse happens when only part of Earth's shadow covers the
Moon.
 NASA Lunar Eclipse Guides: 2011-2020and 2021-2030.

During some stages of a lunar eclipse, the Moon can appear reddish.
This is because the only remaining sunlight reaching the Moon at that point is
from around the edges of the Earth, as seen from the Moon's surface. From
there, an observer during an eclipse would see all Earth's sunrises and
sunsets at once.

All About Lunar Eclipses ›

A composite of seven images shows the full moon at perigee, or supermoon, during a total
lunar eclipse on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015, in Denver. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Kid-Friendly Moon
Most of the planets in our solar system—and some asteroids—have moons.
Earth has one moon. We call it "the Moon" because for a long time it was the
only one we knew about. Many languages have beautiful words for Moon. It is
"Luna" in Italian, Latin and Spanish, "Lune" in French, "Mond" in German, and
"Selene" in Greek.

Our Moon is like a desert with plains, mountains, and valleys. It also has
many craters, holes created when space rocks hit the surface at a high speed.
There is no air to breathe on the Moon.

The Moon travels around the Earth in an oval shaped orbit. Scientists think the
Moon was formed long, long ago when Earth crashed into a Mars-sized object.

We always see the same side of the Moon from Earth. You have to go into space
to see the other side.

Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.

 PLUTO

The Latest

July 14, 2017: On July 14, 2015, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft made its
historic flight through the Pluto system – providing the first close-up images of
Pluto and its moons and collecting other data that has transformed our
understanding of these mysterious worlds on the solar system’s outer frontier.

Perspective view of Pluto's highest mountains, Tenzing Montes. Credit: NASA/Johns

Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/ Lunar and
Planetary Institute/Paul Schenk

Scientists are still analyzing and uncovering data that New Horizons recorded
and sent home after the encounter. On the two-year anniversary of the flyby,
the team is unveiling a set of detailed, high-quality global maps of Pluto and
its largest moon, Charon.

 New Horizons project science gallery for Pluto

 New Horizons project science gallery for Charon

Pluto—which is smaller than Earth’s Moon—has a heart-shaped glacier that’s

the size of Texas and Oklahoma. This fascinating world has blue skies,
spinning moons, mountains as high as the Rockies, and it snows—but the
snow is red.

“The complexity of the Pluto system — from its geology to its satellite system
to its atmosphere— has been beyond our wildest imagination,” said Alan
Stern, New Horizons principal investigator from the Southwest Research
Institute in Boulder, Colorado. “Everywhere we turn are new mysteries."
10 Need-to-Know Things About Pluto
1
SMALL WORLD

Pluto is about 1,400 miles (2,380 km) wide. That's about half the width of the United
States, or 2/3 the width of Earth's moon.

2
DEEP SPACE

Pluto orbits the Sun about 3.6 billion miles (5.8 billion km) away on average, about 40
times as far as Earth, in a region called the Kuiper Belt.

3
SLOW JOURNEY

A year on Pluto is 248 Earth years. A day on Pluto lasts 153 hours, or about 6 Earth
days.

NATURAL COLOR

4
SMALL IN SIZE, BUT NOT IN IMPORTANCE

Pluto is officially classified as a dwarf planet.

5
HAZY DAYS

Pluto has a thin atmosphere of nitrogen, methane and carbon monoxide. The
atmosphere has a blue tint and distinct layers of haze.

6
MOON DANCE

Pluto has 5 moons. The largest, Charon, is so big that Pluto and Charon orbit each
other like a double planet.

7
 RINGLESS

Pluto has no ring system.

8
SOLE ENCOUNTER

The only spacecraft to visit Pluto is NASA’s New Horizons, which passed close by in
July 2015.

9
HARSH HABITAT

Pluto’s surface is far too cold, -378 to -396 degrees F (-228 to -238 C), to sustain life as
we know it.

10
FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

Venetia Burney, just 11 years old at the time, suggested the name Pluto in 1930.

MAJESTIC MOUNTAINS AND FROZEN PLAINS

How Pluto Got its Name

Pluto is the only world (so far) named by an 11-year-old girl. In 1930, Venetia
Burney of Oxford, England, suggested to her grandfather that the new
discovery be named for the Roman god of the underworld. He forwarded the
name to the Lowell Observatory and it was selected.

Pluto's moons are named for other mythological figures associated with the
underworld. Charon is named for the river Styx boatman who ferries souls in
the underworld (as well as honoring Sharon, the wife of discoverer James
Christy); Nix is named for the mother of Charon, who is also the goddess of
darkness and night; Hydra is named for the nine-headed serpent that guards
the underworld; Kerberos is named after the three-headed dog of Greek
mythology (and called Fluffy in the Harry Potter novels); and Styx is named for
the mythological river that separates the world of the living from the realm of
the dead.

Pluto's place in mythology can get a little muddled, so we asked Dr. Elizabeth
Vandiver, chair of the Department of Classics in Whitman College in Walla
Walla, Washington, to clarify the origins of the name: "Pluto is the name of the
Roman god of the Underworld, equivalent to the Greek Hades. However, the
Greek name "Plouton" (from which the Romans derived their name "Pluto")
was also occasionally used as an alternative name for Hades. But Pluto is
definitely the Roman spelling."

Pop Culture

When Pluto was reclassified in 2006 from a planet to a dwarf planet, there
was widespread outrage on behalf of the demoted planet. As the textbooks
were updated, the internet spawned memes with Pluto going through a range
of emotions, from anger to loneliness. But since the release of New Horizons
images showing a very prominent heart-shaped feature on the surface, the
sad Pluto meme has given way to a very content, loving Pluto that would like
to once again be visited by a spacecraft.

The Disney cartoon character Pluto, Mickey's faithful dog, made his debut in
1930, the same year Tombaugh discovered the dwarf planet. There is
speculation that Walt Disney named the animated dog after the recently
discovered planet to capitalize on its popularity, but other accounts are less
certain of a direct link. But either way, the joke connecting the two, as told in
the 1987 Mel Brooks film Spaceballs remains:

We were lost. None of us knew where we were. Then Harry starts feeling
around on all the trees, and he says, "I got it! We're on Pluto." I say, "Harry,
how can ya tell?" And he says, "From the bark, you dummies. From the bark!"
Kid-Friendly Pluto
Pluto is a dwarf planet that lies in the Kuiper Belt, an area full of icy bodies and other
dwarf planets out past Neptune. Pluto is very small, only about half the width of the
United States and its biggest moon Charon is about half the size of Pluto.

Almost all the planets travel around the Sun in nearly perfect circles. But not Pluto. It
takes an oval-shaped path with the Sun nowhere near its center. What's more, its path is
quite tilted compared to the planets.

Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.

Vea en Español
 All About Pluto

The Short Answer:

Why is Pluto not a planet?

Pluto is categorized as a dwarf planet. In 2006, Pluto was categorized with

three other objects in the solar system that are about the same small size as
Pluto: Ceres, Makemake and Eris. These objects, along with Pluto, are much
smaller than the "other" planets.
One of the final images taken before New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto on 14 July 2015.
Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Which sentence best describes Pluto?

a. Pluto is actually closer to the sun than Neptune for about 8% of its orbit.
b. Pluto is just one of many icy objects in a distant area of our solar system.
c. Pluto and its large, orbiting companion object Charon, are tipped on their
sides.
d. All of the above.
Well, just pick the answer you like best, because they are all true!
Pluto is a dwarf planetthat lies in the Kuiper Belt. It's an area full of icy
bodies and other dwarf planets at the edge of our solar system. Because
Pluto is the biggest object in this region, some call it "King of the Kuiper Belt."
One thing is certain. Pluto and its neighborhood are very peculiar. If scientists
could unravel some of their mysteries, we would know more about how our
solar system formed.
More Fun Facts About Pluto:

 Pluto is only about half the width of the United States. Charon is about
half the size of Pluto. Charon is the largest moon compared to the body it
orbits (whether planet or dwarf planet) of any moon in the solar system.
 Almost all the planets travel around the sun in nearly perfect circles. But
Pluto does not. It takes an oval-shaped path with the sun nowhere near
its center. What's more, its path is quite tilted from the nice, orderly plane
where all the planets orbit. (Mercury has a slightly lop-sided orbit, although
not nearly so much as Pluto's.)
In the picture above, the arrows show the direction the planets and Pluto
rotate. Notice Pluto's spin goes the opposite direction of all the others
except Venus and Uranus.
In the picture above, the arrows show which direction the planets' and Pluto's
axes of rotation point. Notice Pluto's and Uranus' point along the same plane
as their orbits, instead of more or less "up and down."

 Compared to most of the planets and their moons, the whole Pluto-Charon
system is tipped on its side. Like the planets, Pluto's spin axis stays
pointed in the same direction as it orbits the sun. But unlike all planets
except Uranus, Pluto is tipped on its side. The planets' axes of rotation
stand more or less upright from the plane of their orbits.

 If you lived on Pluto, you'd have to live 248 Earth years to celebrate your
first birthday in Pluto-years.
 If you lived on Pluto, you would see Charon from only one side of the
planet. Charon's orbit around Pluto takes about six and one-half Earth
days. Pluto's day (that is, one complete rotation) takes exactly the same
amount of time. So, Charon always "hovers" over the same spot on Pluto's
surface, and the same side of Charon always faces Pluto.
 At Pluto's current distance from the sun, the temperature on its surface is
about 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit! It will get even colder as it
moves farther from the sun. From Pluto, the sun looks like just a bright dot
in the sky, the brightest star visible. The light from the sun is as bright on
Pluto as the light from the full Moon is on Earth.
 If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only 7 pounds on
Pluto!
 Pluto orbits in a far-out region of the solar system called
the Kuiper (rhymes with viper) Belt. There are lots of icy, rocky objects
 out there. But they are so far from the sun they are really hard to see,
even with powerful telescopes.

Let's Go There!

We finally got to visit Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt! On January 19,
2006, NASA launched a robot spacecraft on the long journey. This mission is
called New Horizons. The spacecraft arrived at Pluto in July 2015, and will
continue to study other objects in the Kuiper Belt from about 2018 to 2022.
With New Horizons, we are visiting and learning about the objects at the very
edge of our solar system. They may help us understand how our solar system
formed.

article last updated June 28, 2019

If you liked this, you may like:

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How Many Moons?

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 Why Pluto is
*not* a planet

A while back, Pluto was the ninth planet from the sun. It was also the smallest
planet.
But not any more. Poor Pluto. Just how did it get "kicked out" of our family of
planets? And who are its "real" family members?
Astronomers have already named three other objects in the solar system that
are about the same small size as Pluto. They are Ceres [SEAR-
ees], Makemake (MAH-kee-MAH-kee], and Eris (AIR-iss]. These objects,
along with Pluto, are much smaller than the "other" planets.

Ceres orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Makemake, like
Pluto, is part of the Kuiper [KI-per] Belt, which is a region of trillions of icy
objects orbiting beyond Neptune. Eris' orbit is even farther out.

If they're not planets, then what are they?

Astronomers have put these objects into a new family called dwarf planets.
This picture shows the sizes of dwarf planets Pluto, Ceres, Eris, and Makemake as compared to Earth
and Earth's moon, here called "Luna." None of the distances between objects are to scale.)

CERES

Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and
Jupiter and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system. It was the
first member of the asteroid belt to be discovered when Giuseppe Piazzi
spotted it in 1801. And when Dawn arrived in 2015, Ceres became the first
dwarf planet to receive a visit from a spacecraft.

Called an asteroid for many years, Ceres is so much bigger and so different
from its rocky neighbors that scientists classified it as a dwarf planet in 2006.
Even though Ceres comprises 25 percent of the asteroid belt's total mass, tiny
Pluto is still 14 times more massive.

Ceres is named for the Roman goddess of corn and harvests. The
word cereal comes from the same name.
Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
and the only dwarf planet located in the inner solar system. It was the first member of
the asteroid belt to be discovered when Giuseppe Piazzi spotted it in 1801. And when
Dawn arrived in 2015, Ceres became the first dwarf planet to receive a visit from a
spacecraft.

Called an asteroid for many years, Ceres is so much bigger and so different from its
rocky neighbors that scientists classified it as a dwarf planet in 2006. Even though
Ceres comprises 25 percent of the asteroid belt's total mass, tiny Pluto is still 14 times
more massive.

Ceres is named for the Roman goddess of corn and harvests. The word cereal comes
from the same name.

Size and Distance

With a radius of 296 miles (476 kilometers), Ceres is 1/13 the radius of Earth. If Earth
were the size of a nickel, Ceres would be about as big as a poppy seed.

From an average distance of 257 million miles (413 million kilometers), Ceres is 2.8
astronomical units away from the sun. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the
distance from the sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 22 minutes to travel
from the sun to Ceres.

A 3D model of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Credit:
NASA Visualization Technology Applications and Development (VTAD)› Download Options

Orbit and Rotation

Ceres takes 1,682 Earth days, or 4.6 Earth years, to make one trip around the sun. As
Ceres orbits the sun, it completes one rotation every 9 hours, making its day length one
of the shortest in the solar system.

Ceres' axis of rotation is tilted just 4 degrees with respect to the plane of its orbit around
the sun. That means it spins nearly perfectly upright and doesn't experience seasons
like other more tilted planets do.

Formation
Ceres formed along with the rest of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago when
gravity pulled swirling gas and dust in to become a small dwarf planet. Scientists
describe Ceres as an "embryonic planet," which means it started to form but didn't quite
finish. Nearby Jupiter's strong gravity prevented it from becoming a fully formed planet.
About 4 billion years ago, Ceres settled into its current location among the leftover
pieces of planetary formation in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Structure
Ceres is more similar to the terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars) than its
asteroid neighbors, but it is much less dense. One of the similarities is a layered interior,
but Ceres' layers aren’t as clearly defined. Ceres probably has a solid core and a mantle
made of water ice. In fact, Ceres could be composed of as much as 25 percent water. If
that is correct, Ceres has more water than Earth does. Ceres' crust is rocky and dusty
with large salt deposits. The salts on Ceres aren’t like table salt (sodium chloride), but
instead are made of different minerals like magnesium sulfate.

Surface
Ceres is covered in countless small, young craters, but none are larger than 175 miles
(280 kilometers) in diameter. This is surprising, given that the dwarf planet must have
been hit by numerous large asteroids during its 4.5 billion-year lifetime.

The lack of craters might be due to layers of ice just below the surface. The surface
features could smooth out over time if ice or another lower-density material, such as
salt, is just below the surface. It's also possible that past hydrothermal activity, such as
ice volcanoes, erased some large craters.

Within some of Ceres' craters, there are regions that are always in shadow. It's possible
that without direct sunlight, these "cold traps" could have water ice in them for long
periods of time.

Atmosphere
Ceres has a very thin atmosphere, and there is evidence it contains water vapor. The
vapor may be produced by ice volcanoes or by ice near the surface sublimating
(transforming from solid to gas).

Potential for Life

Ceres is one of the few places in our solar system where scientists would like to search
for possible signs of life. Ceres has something a lot of other planets don't: water. Here
on Earth, water is essential for life, so it's possible that with this ingredient and a few
other conditions met, life could maybe exist there. Living things on Ceres, if they are
there at all, would likely be very small microbes similar to bacteria. And while Ceres
might not have living things today, there could be signs it harbored life in the past.

Moons
Ceres does not have any moons.
Rings
Ceres does not have any rings.

Magnetosphere
Scientists don't think Ceres has a magnetosphere.

Makemake
In Depth By the Numbers

Along with fellow dwarf planets Pluto, Eris and Haumea, Makemake is located in the Kuiper
Belt, a region outside the orbit of Neptune. Slightly smaller than Pluto, Makemake is the second-
brightest object in the Kuiper Belt as seen from Earth (while Pluto is the brightest). It takes about
305 Earth years for this dwarf planet to make one trip around the sun.

Makemake holds an important place in the history of solar system studies because it—along with
Eris—was one of the objects whose discovery prompted the International Astronomical Union to
reconsider the definition of a planet and to create the new group of dwarf planets.

Makemake was named after the Rapanui god of fertility.

Discovery
Makemake was discovered Mar. 31, 2005 by M.E. Brown, C.A. Trujillo, and D.
Rabinowitz at the Palomar Observatory.

Size and Distance

With a radius of approximately 444 miles (715 kilometers), Makemake is 1/9 the radius of Earth.
If Earth were the size of a nickel, Makemake would be about as big as a mustard seed.

From an average distance of 4,253,000,000 miles (6,847,000,000 kilometers), Makemake is 45.8

astronomical units away from the sun. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the distance
from the sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 6 hours and 20 minutes to travel from
the sun to Makemake.

A 3D model of Makemake, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt. Credit: NASA Visualization Technology
Applications and Development (VTAD)› Download Options
Orbit and Rotation
Makemake takes 305 Earth years to make one trip around the sun. As Makemake orbits the sun,
it completes one rotation every 22.5 hours, making its day length similar to ours.

Formation
Dwarf planet Makemake is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond
the orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of
miniature icy worlds, which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion
years ago. These icy, rocky bodies are called Kuiper Belt objects, transneptunian objects, or
plutoids.

Structure
Scientists know very little about Makemake's structure.

Surface
We can't see too many details of Makemake's surface from so far away, but it does appear to be a
reddish-brownish color, similar to Pluto. Scientists have also detected frozen methane and ethane
on its surface. In fact, pellets of frozen methane as big as half an inch (1 centimeter) in diameter
may rest on Makemake's cold surface.

Atmosphere
Makemake may develop a very thin atmosphere, most likely made of nitrogen, near perihelion
— when it is closest to the sun.

Potential for Life

The surface of Makemake is extremely cold, so it seems unlikely that life could exist there.

Moons
Makemake has one provisional moon, S/2015 (136472) 1 and nicknamed MK 2. It is more than
1,300 times fainter than Makemake. MK 2 was seen approximately 13,000 miles from the dwarf
planet, and its radius is estimated to be about 50 miles (80 kilometers).

Rings
There are no known rings around Makemake.
Magnetosphere
Scientists do not know if Makemake has a magnetosphere.

Exploration
Makemake was first observed in March 2005 by M.E. Brown, C.A. Trujillo, and D.L.
Rabinowitz at the Palomar Observatory. Its unofficial codename was Easterbunny, and before
this dwarf planet was confirmed, its provisional name was 2005 FY9.

Significant Dates
 2005: Makemake is first observed with ground-based telescopes at the Palomar Observatory.
 2008: Makemake recognized as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union.
 2016: NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a small, dark moon orbiting Makemake, the
second brightest icy dwarf planet—after Pluto—in the Kuiper Belt.

Quick Facts
Day
2.5 hours

Year
305.34 Earth years

Radius
~ 444 miles | 715 kilometers

Planet Type
Dwarf

Confirmed Moons
0

Provisional moons
1

Page Updated: April 25, 2019

 Haumea
In Depth By the Numbers

Originally designated 2003 EL61 (and nicknamed Santa by one discovery team), Haumea resides
in the Kuiper belt and is roughly the same size as Pluto. Haumea is one of the fastest rotating
large objects in our solar system. Its fast spin distorts Haumea's shape, making this dwarf planet
look like a football.

Discovery
Two teams claim credit for discovering of Haumea citing evidence from observations
made in 2003 and 2004. The International Astronomical Union’s Gazetteer of Planetary
Nomenclature lists the discovery location as Sierra Nevada Observatory in Spain on Mar.
7, 2003, but no official discoverer is listed.

Haumea was named after the Hawaiian goddess of fertility.

Size and Distance

With a radius of about 385 miles (620 kilometers), Haumea is about 1/14 the radius of Earth. If
Earth were the size of a nickel, Haumea would be about as big as a sesame seed.

From an average distance of 4,010,000,000 miles (6,452,000,000 kilometers), Haumea is 43

astronomical units away from the Sun. One astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU), is the
distance from the Sun to Earth. From this distance, it takes sunlight 6 hours to travel from the
Sun to Haumea.

Orbit and Rotation

Haumea takes 285 Earth years to make one trip around the Sun. As Haumea orbits the Sun, it
completes one rotation every 4 hours, making it one of the fastest rotating large objects in our
solar system.

It is possible a massive impact billions of years ago set off Haumea's spin and created its moons.

A 3D model of Haumea, a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt Credit: NASA Visualization Technology
Applications and Development (VTAD)› Download Options

Formation
Dwarf planet Haumea is a member of a group of objects that orbit in a disc-like zone beyond the
orbit of Neptune called the Kuiper Belt. This distant realm is populated with thousands of
miniature icy worlds which formed early in the history of our solar system about 4.5 billion years
ago. These icy, rocky bodies are called Kuiper Belt objects, transneptunian objects, or plutoids.

Structure
Astronomers believe Haumea is a made of rock with a coating of ice.

Surface
We know very little about Haumea's surface.

Atmosphere
We know very little about Haumea's atmosphere.

Potential for Life

The surface of Haumea is extremely cold, so it seems unlikely that life could exist there.

Moons
Haumea has two known moons: Namaka is the inner moon, and Hi'iaka is the outer moon. Both
are named for the mythological daughters of Huamea. Hi'aka is the patron goddess of the island
of Hawaii and of hula dancers. Namaka is a water spirit in Hawaiian mythology.

Rings
Haumea is the first known Kuiper Belt Object to have rings. Scientists announced the
discovery in 2017 after waching the dwarf planet pass in front of a star.

Magnetosphere
Scientists do not think Haumea has a magnetosphere.

Exploration
Everything we know about Haumea is from observations with ground-based telescopes from
around the world.
Significant Dates
 2004: Haumea’s discovery is announced by a team claiming to have recovered it from data collected
in 2003.
 2005: Haumea's moons are discovered.
 2008: Haumea is recognized as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union and named
Haumea.

Quick Facts
Day
4 hours

Year
285 Earth years

Radius
~ 385 miles | 620 kilometers

Planet Type
Dwarf

Confirmed Moons
2

What Is the Kuiper Belt?

The Short Answer:

The Kuiper Belt is a ring of icy bodies just outside of Neptune’s orbit. Pluto is
the most famous Kuiper Belt Object.
The sun is at the center of our solar system. It is orbited by eight planets:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. But
what’s past Neptune?

Just outside of Neptune’s orbit is a ring of icy bodies. We call it the Kuiper
Belt. It’s pronounced ky-purr.
This is where you’ll find dwarf planet Pluto. It’s the most famous of the objects
floating in the Kuiper Belt, which are also called Kuiper Belt Objects, or
KBOs.
Why is it named Kuiper?

The Kuiper Belt is named after a scientist named Gerard Kuiper. In 1951 he
had the idea that a belt of icy bodies might have existed beyond Neptune
when the solar system formed. He was trying to explain where comets with
small orbits came from. No one had seen anything out there yet because it’s
hard to see small comets past Neptune even with the best telescopes. But
even without being able to see it with his own eyes, Kuiper made a prediction.
And it turned out to be right.
What’s out there?

There are bits of rock and ice, comets, and dwarf planets. Besides Pluto, two
other interesting Kuiper Belt Objects are Eris and Haumea.
Eris

Eris is a Kuiper Belt Object a little smaller than Pluto. It is so far away it takes
557 years to orbit the sun. Eris has a small moon named Dysnomia.
Haumea

Another interesting Kuiper Belt Object is Haumea. It’s shaped like a squashed
American football about 1,200 miles (1,931 km) long. It spins end over end
every few hours. The strange shape and rotation were caused by a collision
with an object about half its size. When Haumea and this other object
smashed into each other, the impact blasted away big pieces of ice and sent
Haumea spinning.
Haumea also has two moons named Hi’iaka and Namaka.

More to Learn

The Kuiper Belt is still a very mysterious place, and we have a lot to learn
about it. The spacecraft New Horizons flew past Pluto in July of 2015. It will
keep exploring the Kuiper Belt and sending us more information about it.
 article last updated June 28, 2019

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How Many Moons?

A lot of moons or no moons at all?

We on Earth have just one moon, but some planets have dozens of them.
Others don’t have any. Which planets have moons, and which don’t?
Let’s go in order from the Sun.

Mercury and Venus

Up first are Mercury and Venus. Neither of them has a moon.
Because Mercury is so close to the Sun and its gravity, it wouldn’t be able to
hold on to its own moon. Any moon would most likely crash into Mercury or
maybe go into orbit around the Sun and eventually get pulled into it.

Why Venus doesn’t have a moon is a mystery for scientists to solve.

Earth (That's us!)
Up next is Earth, and of course we have one moon.
Mars
Mars has two moons. Their names are Phobos and Deimos. Don’t you wish
our moon had a cool name like that?
Jupiter
Next are the giant outer planets. They have lots of moons. Jupiter, for
instance, has 79 known moons!
The most well-known of Jupiter's moons are Io (pronounced eye-oh), Europa,
and Callisto. Jupiter also has the biggest moon in our solar system,
Ganymede.

These moons are so big you can see them with just a pair of binoculars.
Saturn
Saturn has 53 moons that have been named. Saturn also has nine moons
awaiting confirmation. They’re unconfirmed because we’re waiting to get more
information about them. If all of these moons get confirmed, Saturn will have
62 moons. And that’s not counting Saturn’s beautiful rings.
Saturn’s moons have great names like Mimas, Enceladus, and Tethys. One of
these moons, named Titan, even has its own atmosphere, which is very
unusual for a moon.
Uranus and Neptune
Uranus has 27 moons that we know of. Some of them are half made of ice.
Lastly, Neptune has 14 named moons. One of Neptune's moons, Triton, is as
big as dwarf planet Pluto.
To learn more about the moons in our solar system, visit the NASA Solar
System Exploration moons page.
article last updated February 20, 2019

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How far away is the moon?
 Why is the moon so scarred with craters?</br

Asteroid, Comets and Meteors

Don’t let the name fool you. Our solar system’s small bodies—asteroids,
comets and meteors—pack big surprises. Asteroids and comets—and the
meteors that sometimes come from them—are leftovers from the formation of
our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. While the planets and moons have
changed over the millennia, many of these small chunks of ice, rock and metal
have not. They are a lot like a fossil record of planetary evolution.

There are currently

796,423

known asteroids and

3,586

known comets.

IN DEPTH
At the very beginning of our solar system, before there was an Earth, Jupiter or
Pluto, a massive swirling cloud of dust and gas circled the young Sun. The dust
particles in this disk collided with each other and formed into larger bits of rock.
This process continued until they reached the size of boulders. Eventually this
process of accretion formed the planets of our solar system.

Billions of small space rocks never evolved. Amazingly, many of these

mysterious worlds have been altered very little in the 4.6 billion years since they
first formed. Their relatively pristine state makes the comets, asteroids and some
meteors wonderful storytellers with much to share about what conditions were
like in the early solar system. They can reveal secrets about our origins,
chronicling the processes and events that led to the birth of our world. They
might offer clues about where the water and raw materials that made life possible
on Earth came from.
Current Counts:
 Known Asteroids:

796,423

 Known Comets:

3,586

Robotic Exploration
NASA's robotic spacecraft allow us to visit comets, asteroids, and dwarf planets
up close, and even bring back samples to study. We are just beginning to figure
out what these places are like, what they are made of, and how they formed.

Raw Materials for Life?

Comets and asteroids probably delivered some of the water and other
ingredients that allowed the complex chemistry of life to begin on Earth. The
amino acid glycine was discovered in the comet dust returned to Earth by the
Stardust mission. Glycine is used by living organisms to make proteins. The
discovery supports the theory that some of life's ingredients formed in space and
were delivered to Earth long ago by meteorite and comet impacts.

Like forensic detectives, scientists follow clues about what happened when the
solar system was young to piece together the story of our origins. What we learn
will also teach us about systems of planets around other stars, and how life might
develop there as well.

Resources for the Future

We also explore small worlds to understand the hazards and resources in the
solar system that will affect human expansion in space. As we venture outward
from our home planet, what kinds of challenges will we face?

Might we find new sources of raw materials and natural resources that we could
use on Earth? Could humans use asteroids or comets as refueling stations
someday? Might we find new, cleaner energy sources in space to help protect
our environment?
Protection from Potential Impacts
Impacts are a process in the solar system that are capable of ending life as well
as advancing it. These cosmic collisions are as natural as rain, although they
happened a lot more often when the solar system was young. Scientists believe
stray objects or fragments from earlier collisions slammed into Earth in the past,
playing a major role in the evolution of our planet.

With increasing regularity, scientists are discovering asteroids and comets with
unusual orbits, ones that take them close to Earth and the Sun. Very few of these
bodies are potential hazards to Earth, but the more we know and understand
about them, the better prepared we will be to take appropriate measures if one is
heading our way. Knowing the size, shape, mass, composition and structure of
these objects will help determine the best way to divert a space rock found to be
on an Earth-threatening path. Missions to comets and asteroids provide valuable
information about their composition and structure, helping scientists assess the
best methods to deal with those in potentially hazardous orbits.

By immediately tracking potentially hazardous near-Earth objects, we have more

time to study potentially threatening situations. NASA's Near Earth Object
Program was established in 1998 to coordinate NASA-sponsored efforts to
detect, track and characterize potentially hazardous asteroids and comets that
could approach the Earth

Small Bodies by Type

Asteroids
These rocky fragments are leftovers from the beginning of our solar system.
Comets
Cosmic snowballs of gas and dust that make sweeping orbits around our sun.

Meteors & Meteorites

Shooting stars are actually bits of debris that fall through our atmosphere.
Explore in 3D—Eyes on the Solar System
Eyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the
spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050. Ride with the Curiosity Rover as it lands on Mars
or fly by Pluto with the New Horizons spacecraft all from the comfort of your home computer.

Meteors & Meteorites

Overview In Depth Galleries Exploration

What’s the difference between a meteor, meteoroid and meteorite?

They’re all related to the flashes of light called “shooting stars” sometimes seen
streaking across the sky. But we call the same object by different names, depending
on where it is.

Scientists collecting a meteorite from the Miller Range in Antarctica.

Meteoroids are objects in space that range in size from dust grains to small asteroids.
Think of them as “space rocks."

When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere (or that of another planet, like Mars) at
high speed and burn up, the fireballs or “shooting stars” are called meteors.

When a meteoroid survives a trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground, it’s
called a meteorite.

IN DEPTH
What’s that flash of light streaking across the sky? We call the objects that
creates this brilliant effect by different names, depending on where it is.

Meteoroids are what we call “space rocks” that range in size from dust grains to
small asteroids. This term only applies when they’re in space.

NASA astronomer Peter Jenniskens with a asteroid meteorite found in the Nubian Desert
of northern Sudan. Credit: NASA/SETI/P. Jenniskens

Most are pieces of other, larger bodies that have been broken or blasted off.
Some come from comets, others from asteroids, and some even come from the
Moon and other planets. Some meteoroids are rocky, while others are metallic,
or combinations of rock and metal.

When meteoroids enter Earth’s atmosphere, or that of another planet, like Mars,
at high speed and burn up, they’re called meteors.This is also when we refer to
them as “shooting stars.” Sometimes meteors can even appear brighter than
Venus -- that’s when we call them “fireballs.” Scientists estimate that about 48.5
tons (44,000 kilograms) of meteoritic material falls on Earth each day.

When a meteoroid survives its trip through the atmosphere and hits the ground,
it’s called a meteorite.

Meteor Showers

Several meteors per hour can usually be seen on any given night. When there
are lots more meteors, you’re watching a meteor shower. Some meteor
showers occur annually or at regular intervals as the Earth passes through the
trail of dusty debris left by a comet (and, in a few cases, asteroids).

Meteor showers are usually named after a star or constellation that is close to
where the meteors appear to originate in the sky. Perhaps the most famous are
the Perseids, which peak around August 12 every year. Every Perseid meteor is
a tiny piece of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which swings by the Sun every 135 years.
Other notable meteor showers include the Leonids, associated with comet
Tempel-Tuttle; the Aquarids and Orionids, linked to comet Halley, and the
Taurids, associated with comet Encke. Most of this comet debris is between the
size of a grain of sand and a pea and burns up in the atmosphere before
reaching the ground. Sometimes, meteor dust is captured by high-altitude aircraft
and analyzed in NASA laboratories.

When to Watch

2019 Peak Parent Body

Major Meteor RatePer
Night(may vary (Asteroid or
Streams Hour**
by +/- 1 day) Comet)

(196256) 2003
Quadrantids January 3-4 110
EH1

Comet C/1861
Lyrids April 21-22 18
G1

Comet
Eta Aquariids May 5-6 50
1P/Halley

Southern Unknown
Delta July 29-30 25 sungrazing
Aquariids comet

Comet
Perseids August 12-13 110 109P/Swift-
Tuttle
 2019 Peak Parent Body
Major Meteor RatePer
Night(may vary (Asteroid or
Streams Hour**
by +/- 1 day) Comet)

October 21- Comet

Orionids 20
22 1P/Halley

Comet
November
Leonids 15 55P/Tempel-
17-18
Tuttle

December (3200)
Geminids 140
13-14 Phaethon

December Comet
Ursids 10
22-23 8P/Tuttle

* For observers in the northern hemisphere.

** Estimated rate per hour in under perfect conditions, based on activity in recent years

Finding Meteorites

Most space rocks smaller than a football field will break apart in Earth’s
atmosphere. Traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour, the object
disintegrates as pressure exceeds the strength of the object, resulting a bright
flare. Typically less than 5 percent of the original object will ever make it down to
the ground. These meteorites, pieces of meteors that are found, typically range
between the size of a pebble and a fist.

Don’t expect to find meteorites after a meteor shower. Most meteor showers
come from comets, whose material is quite fragile. Small comet fragments
generally won’t survive entry into our atmosphere. In theory, the Taurids and
Geminids could send meteorites down to our surface every once in a while, but
no remnants have been traced to them definitively.
A student from the University of Khartoum, Sudan searches the desert terrain for meteorites.
Credit: NASA Ames Research Center / SETI / Peter Jenniskens

It can be difficult to distinguish a meteorite from an Earth rock by appearance

alone in most parts of the world, but there are some special places where they’re
much easier to identify: deserts. In sandy deserts with large, open regions of
sand and few rocks, dark meteorites stand out clearly. Similarly, meteorites can
be much easier to spot in cold, icy deserts, such as the frozen plains of
Antarctica.

Why Do We Care About Meteorites?

Meteorites that fall to Earth represent some of the original, diverse materials that
formed planets billions of years ago. By studying meteorites we can learn about
early conditions and processes in the solar system’s history. These include the
age and composition of different planetary building blocks, the temperatures
achieved at the surfaces and interiors of asteroids, and the degree to which
materials were shocked by impacts in the past.

What Do Meteorites Look Like?

Meteorites may resemble Earth rocks, but they usually have a burned exterior
that can appear shiny. This “fusion crust” forms as the meteorite’s outer surface
melts while passing through the atmosphere.

There are three major types of meteorites: the "irons," the "stonys," and the
stony-irons. Although the majority of meteorites that fall to Earth are stony, most
of the meteorites discovered long after they fall are irons. Irons are heavier and
easier to distinguish from Earth rocks than stony meteorites.

How Do We Know Where Meteorites Come From?

Most meteorites found on Earth come from shattered asteroids, although some
come from Mars or the Moon. In theory, small pieces of Mercury or Venus could
have also reached Earth, but none have been conclusively identified.

Scientists can tell where meteorites originate based on several lines of evidence.
They can use photographic observations of meteorite falls to calculate orbits and
project their paths back to the asteroid belt. They can also compare
compositional properties of meteorites to the different classes of asteroids. And
they can study how old the meteorites are – up to 4.6 billion years.
 This rock encountered by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is an iron meteorite called
"Lebanon." Lebanon is about 2 yards or 2 meters wide (left to right, from this angle). The
smaller piece in the foreground is called "Lebanon B." Image Credit: NASA/JPL-
Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPGNantes/CNRS/IAS/MSSS

Martian rocks can be traced to the Red Planet because they contain pockets of
trapped gas that matches what satellites and rovers have found at Mars.
Similarly, if the composition of a meteorite resembles rocks that astronauts
brought back from the Moon during the Apollo mission, it is likely to be lunar, too.
We know that a class of meteorites called “howardite-eucrite-diogenite” (HED)
came from the planet-like world Vesta in the asteroid belt, thanks to NASA’s
Dawn mission.

What Kinds of Meteorites Mave Been Found?

More than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth.

Designated Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, and nicknamed "Black Beauty," this Martian
meteorite weighs approximately 11 ounces (320 grams). Credit: NASA

Of these, 99.8 percent come from asteroids. The remaining small fraction (0.2
percent) of meteorites is split roughly equally between meteorites from Mars and
the Moon. The over 60 known Martian meteorites were blasted off Mars by
meteoroid impacts. All are igneous rocks crystallized from magma. The rocks are
very much like Earth rocks with some distinctive compositions that indicate
Martian origin.

The nearly 80 lunar meteorites are similar in mineralogy and composition to

Apollo mission Moon rocks, but distinct enough to show that they have come
from other parts of the Moon. Studies of lunar and Martian meteorites
complement studies of Apollo Moon rocks and the robotic exploration of Mars.

Meteorite Impacts in History

Early Earth experienced many large meteor impacts that caused extensive
destruction. While most craters left by ancient impacts on Earth have been
erased by erosion and other geologic processes, the Moon’s craters are still
largely intact and visible. Today, we know of about 190 impact craters on Earth.

A very large asteroid impact 65 million years ago is thought to have contributed
to the extinction of about 75 percent of marine and land animals on Earth at the
time, including the dinosaurs. It created the 180-mile-wide (300-kilometer-wide)
Chicxulub Crater on the Yucatan Peninsula.

One of the most intact impact craters is the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona.
It’s about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across and was formed by the impact of a piece
of iron-nickel metal approximately 164 feet (50 meters) in diameter. It is only
50,000 years old and so well preserved that it has been used to study impact
processes. Since the 1890s geologists studied it, but its status as an impact
crater wasn’t confirmed until 1960.

Meteor Crater in Arizona. Note vehicles in parking lot for scale. Credit: USGS

Well-documented stories of meteorite-caused injury or death are rare. In the first

known case of an extraterrestrial object to have injured a human being in the
U.S., Ann Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, was severely bruised by a 8-pound
(3.6-kilogram) stony meteorite that crashed through her roof in November 1954.

The only entry of a large meteoroid into Earth’s atmosphere in modern history
with firsthand accounts was the Tunguska event of 1908. This meteor struck a
remote part of Siberia in Russia, but didn’t quite make it to the ground. Instead, it
exploded in the air a few miles up. The force of the explosion was powerful
enough to knock over trees in a region hundreds of miles wide. Scientists think
the meteor itself was about 120 feet (37 meters) across and weighed 220 million
pounds (100 million kilograms). Locally, hundreds of reindeer were killed, but
there was no direct evidence that any person perished in the blast.

More recently, in 2013 the world was startled by a brilliant fireball that streaked
across the sky above Chelyabinsk, Russia. The house-sized meteoroid entered
the atmosphere at over 11 miles (18 kilometers) per second and blew apart 14
miles (23 kilometers) above the ground. The explosion released the energy
equivalent of around 440,000 tons of TNT and generated a shock wave that blew
out windows over 200 square miles (518 square kilometers) and damaged
buildings. More than 1,600 people were injured in the blast, mostly due to broken
glass.
 ASTEROID

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left
over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

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The current known asteroid count is:

796,423

.IN DEPTH
Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars
and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta
— the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter — to bodies that
are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids
combined is less than that of Earth's Moon.
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early
formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

The current known asteroid count is:

796,423

Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting the sun between Mars and
Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta—the largest at
about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter - to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10
meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth's
Moon.

Most asteroids are irregularly shaped, though a few are nearly spherical, and they are
often pitted or cratered. As they revolve around the sun in elliptical orbits, the asteroids
also rotate, sometimes quite erratically, tumbling as they go. More than 150 asteroids
are known to have a small companion moon (some have two moons). There are also
binary (double) asteroids, in which two rocky bodies of roughly equal size orbit each
other, as well as triple asteroid systems.

Composition
The three broad composition classes of asteroids are C-, S-, and M-types.

 The C-type (chondrite) asteroids are most common, probably consist of clay and
silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. They are among the most ancient
objects in the solar system.

 The S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron.

 The M-types are metallic (nickel-iron). The asteroids' compositional differences are
related to how far from the sun they formed. Some experienced high temperatures
after they formed and partly melted, with iron sinking to the center and forcing
basaltic (volcanic) lava to the surface.

Jupiter's massive gravity and occasional close encounters with Mars or another object
change the asteroids' orbits, knocking them out of the main belt and hurling them into
space in all directions across the orbits of the other planets. Stray asteroids and
asteroid fragments slammed into Earth and the other planets in the past, playing a
major role in altering the geological history of the planets and in the evolution of life on
Earth.
Scientists continuously monitor Earth-crossing asteroids, whose paths intersect Earth's
orbit, and near-Earth asteroids that approach Earth's orbital distance to within about 45
million kilometers (28 million miles) and may pose an impact danger. Radar is a
valuable tool in detecting and monitoring potential impact hazards. By reflecting
transmitted signals off objects, images and other information can be derived from the
echoes. Scientists can learn a great deal about an asteroid's orbit, rotation, size, shape,
and metal concentration.

Asteroid Classifications
Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt
between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits. The belt is
estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 kilometer (0.6
mile) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones. Early in the history of the solar system,
the gravity of newly formed Jupiter brought an end to the formation of planetary bodies
in this region and caused the small bodies to collide with one another, fragmenting them
into the asteroids we observe today.

Trojans: These asteroids share an orbit with a larger planet, but do not collide with it
because they gather around two special places in the orbit (called the L4 and L5
Lagrangian points). There, the gravitational pull from the sun and the planet are
balanced by a trojan's tendency to otherwise fly out of the orbit. The Jupiter trojans form
the most significant population of trojan asteroids. It is thought that they are as
numerous as the asteroids in the asteroid belt. There are Mars and Neptune trojans,
and NASA announced the discovery of an Earth trojan in 2011.

Near-Earth Asteroids: These objects have orbits that pass close by that of Earth.
Asteroids that actually cross Earth's orbital path are known as Earth-crossers. As of
June 19, 2013, 10,003 near-Earth asteroids are known and the number over 1 kilometer
in diameter is thought to be 861, with 1,409 classified as potentially hazardous asteroids
- those that could pose a threat to Earth.

How Asteroids Get Their Names

The International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body
Nomenclature.is a little less strict when it comes to naming asteroids than other
IAU naming committees. So out there orbiting the sun we have giant space rocks
named for Mr. Spock (a cat named for the character of "Star Trek" fame), rock
musician Frank Zappa, beloved teachers such as Florida’s Cynthia L. Reyes, and
more somber tributes such as the seven asteroids named for the crew of the
Space Shuttle Columbia killed in 2003. Asteroids are also named for places and
a variety of other things. (The IAU discourages naming asteroids for pets, so Mr.
Spock stands alone).
Asteroids are also given a number, for example (99942) Apophis. The Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics keeps afairly current list of asteroid names.
 Key Science Targets
list view grid view

101955 Bennu

10199 Chariklo


 16 Psyche

243 Ida


 25143 Itokawa

253 Mathilde


433 Eros

4 Vesta

Did You Know?

The total mass of all the asteroids in the main asteroid belt combined is less
than that of Earth's Moon.
Kid-Friendly Asteroids
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the Sun like
planets, they are much smaller than planets.

There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the main asteroid
belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

Some asteroids go in front of and behind Jupiter. They are called Trojans. Asteroids that come
close to Earth are called Near Earth Objects, NEOs for short. NASA keeps close watch on these
asteroids.

Asteroids are left over from the formation of our solar system.

Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.

COMETS
Comets are cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, rock and dust that orbit the
Sun. When frozen, they are the size of a small town. When a comet's orbit
brings it close to the Sun, it heats up and spews dust and gases into a giant
glowing head larger than most planets. The dust and gases form a tail that
stretches away from the Sun for millions of miles. There are likely billions of
comets orbiting our Sun in the Kuiper Belt and even more distant Oort Cloud.

The current number of known comets is:

3,586

In the distant past, people were both awed and alarmed by comets, perceiving
them as long-haired stars that appeared in the sky unannounced and
unpredictably. Chinese astronomers kept extensive records for centuries,
including illustrations of characteristic types of comet tails, times of cometary
appearances and disappearances, and celestial positions. These historic comet
annals have proven to be a valuable resource for later astronomers.

We now know that comets are leftovers from the dawn of our solar system
around 4.6 billion years ago, and consist mostly of ice coated with dark organic
material. They have been referred to as "dirty snowballs." They may yield
important clues about the formation of our solar system. Comets may have
brought water and organic compounds, the building blocks of life, to the early
Earth and other parts of the solar system.

Where Do Comets Come From?

As theorized by astronomer Gerard Kuiper in 1951, a disc-like belt of icy bodies
exists beyond Neptune, where a population of dark comets orbits the Sun in the
realm of Pluto. These icy objects, occasionally pushed by gravity into orbits
bringing them closer to the Sun, become the so-called short-period comets.
Taking less than 200 years to orbit the Sun, in many cases their appearance is
predictable because they have passed by before. Less predictable are long-
period comets, many of which arrive from a region called the Oort Cloud about
100,000 astronomical units (that is, about 100,000 times the distance between
Earth and the Sun) from the Sun. These Oort Cloud comets can take as long as
30 million years to complete one trip around the Sun.

Each comet has a tiny frozen part, called a nucleus, often no larger than a few
kilometers across. The nucleus contains icy chunks, frozen gases with bits of
embedded dust. A comet warms up as it nears the Sun and develops an
atmosphere, or coma. The Sun's heat causes the comet's ices to change to
gases so the coma gets larger. The coma may extend hundreds of thousands of
kilometers. The pressure of sunlight and high-speed solar particles (solar wind)
can blow the coma dust and gas away from the Sun, sometimes forming a long,
bright tail. Comets actually have two tails―a dust tail and an ion (gas) tail.
Most comets travel a safe distance from the Sun―comet Halley comes no closer
than 89 million kilometers (55 million miles). However, some comets, called
sungrazers, crash straight into the Sun or get so close that they break up and
evaporate.

Exploration of Comets
Scientists have long wanted to study comets in some detail, tantalized by the few
1986 images of comet Halley's nucleus. NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft flew
by comet Borrelly in 2001 and photographed its nucleus, which is about 8
kilometers (5 miles) long.

NASA's Stardust mission successfully flew within 236 kilometers (147 miles) of
the nucleus of Comet Wild 2 in January 2004, collecting cometary particles and
interstellar dust for a sample return to Earth in 2006. The photographs taken
during this close flyby of a comet nucleus show jets of dust and a rugged,
textured surface. Analysis of the Stardust samples suggests that comets may be
more complex than originally thought. Minerals formed near the Sun or other
stars were found in the samples, suggesting that materials from the inner regions
of the solar system traveled to the outer regions where comets formed.

Another NASA mission, Deep Impact, consisted of a flyby spacecraft and an

impactor. In July 2005, the impactor was released into the path of the nucleus of
comet Tempel 1 in a planned collision, which vaporized the impactor and ejected
massive amounts of fine, powdery material from beneath the comet's surface. En
route to impact, the impactor camera imaged the comet in increasing detail. Two
cameras and a spectrometer on the flyby spacecraft recorded the dramatic
excavation that helped determine the interior composition and structure of the
nucleus.

After their successful primary missions, the Deep Impact spacecraft and the
Stardust spacecraft were still healthy and were retargeted for additional cometary
flybys. Deep Impact's mission, EPOXI (Extrasolar Planet Observation and Deep
Impact Extended Investigation), comprised two projects: the Deep Impact
Extended Investigation (DIXI), which encountered comet Hartley 2 in November
2010, and the Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh)
investigation, which searched for Earth-size planets around other stars on route
to Hartley 2. NASA returned to comet Tempel 1 in 2011, when the Stardust New
Exploration of Tempel 1 (NExT) mission observed changes in the nucleus since
Deep Impact's 2005 encounter.
 How Comets Get Their Names
Comet naming can be complicated. Comets are generally named for their
discoverer—either a person or a spacecraft. This International Astronomical
Union guideline was developed only in the last century. For example, comet
Shoemaker-Levy 9 was so named because it was the ninth short-periodic comet
discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy. Since
spacecraft are very effective at spotting comets many comets have LINEAR,
SOHO or WISE in their names.

Key Science Targets

list view grid view

103P/Hartley (Hartley 2)


 109P/Swift-Tuttle

19P/Borrelly


 1P/Halley

21P/Giacobini-Zinner


 2P/Encke

55P/Tempel-Tuttle


 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

81P/Wild (Wild 2)


 9P/Tempel 1

C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)


 C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)

C/2013 A1 Siding Spring


 ISON

Oumuamua


 P/Shoemaker-Levy 9

Kid-Friendly Comets
Comets orbit the Sun just like planets and asteroids do, except a comet usually has a very
elongated orbit.
As the comet gets closer to the Sun, some of the ice starts to melt and boil off, along with
particles of dust. These particles and gases make a cloud around the nucleus, called a
coma.

The coma is lit by the Sun. The sunlight also pushes this material into the beautiful
brightly lit tail of the comet.

Visit NASA Space Place for more kid-friendly facts.