Asteroid

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For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation).

253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid measuring about 50 km (30 mi) across, covered in craters half that size.
Photograph taken in 1997 by the NEAR Shoemaker probe.

Diagram of the Solar System's asteroid belt

 2014 JO25 imaged by radar during its 2017 Earth flyby

Asteroids are minor planets, especially of the inner Solar System. Larger asteroids have also been
called planetoids. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting
the Sun that did not resolve into a disc in a telescope and was not observed to have characteristics
of an active comet such as a tail. As minor planets in the outer Solar System were discovered that
were found to have volatile-rich surfaces similar to comets, these came to be distinguished from the
objects found in the main asteroid belt.[1]
In this article, the term "asteroid" refers to the minor planets of the inner Solar System, including
those co-orbital with Jupiter.

Contents

 1Overview
 2Discovery
o 2.1Historical methods
o 2.2Manual methods of the 1900s and modern reporting
o 2.3Computerized methods
 3Terminology
 4Formation
 5Distribution within the Solar System
o 5.1Asteroid belt
o 5.2Trojans
o 5.3Near-Earth asteroids
 6Characteristics
o 6.1Size distribution
 6.1.1Largest asteroids
o 6.2Rotation
o 6.3Composition
o 6.4Surface features
o 6.5Color
 7Classification
o 7.1Orbital classification
 7.1.1Quasi-satellites and horseshoe objects
 o 7.2Spectral classification
 7.2.1Problems
 8Naming
o 8.1Symbols
 9Exploration
o 9.1Planned and future missions
 10Fiction
 11Gallery
 12See also
 13Notes
 14References
 15Further reading
 16External links

Overview[edit]
Millions of asteroids exist, many are shattered remnants of planetesimals, bodies within the young
Sun's solar nebula that never grew large enough to become planets.[2] The vast majority of known
asteroids orbit within the main asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, or are
co-orbital with Jupiter (the Jupiter trojans). However, other orbital families exist with significant
populations, including the near-Earth objects. Individual asteroids are classified by their
characteristic spectra, with the majority falling into three main groups: C-type, M-type, and S-type.
These were named after and are generally identified with carbon-rich, metallic, and silicate (stony)
compositions, respectively. The sizes of asteroids varies greatly; the largest, Ceres, is almost
1,000 km (600 mi) across and massive enough to qualify as a dwarf planet.
Asteroids are somewhat arbitrarily differentiated from comets and meteoroids. In the case of comets,
the difference is one of composition: while asteroids are mainly composed of mineral and rock,
comets are primarily composed of dust and ice. Furthermore, asteroids formed closer to the sun,
preventing the development of cometary ice.[3] The difference between asteroids and meteoroids is
mainly one of size: meteoroids have a diameter of one meter or less, whereas asteroids have a
diameter of greater than one meter. [4] Finally, meteoroids can be composed of either cometary or
asteroidal materials.[5]
Only one asteroid, 4 Vesta, which has a relatively reflective surface, is normally visible to the naked
eye, and this is only in very dark skies when it is favorably positioned. Rarely, small asteroids
passing close to Earth may be visible to the naked eye for a short time. [6] As of March 2020,
the Minor Planet Center had data on 930,000 minor planets in the inner and outer Solar System, of
which about 545,000 had enough information to be given numbered designations. [7]
The United Nations declared 30 June as International Asteroid Day to educate the public about
asteroids. The date of International Asteroid Day commemorates the anniversary of the Tunguska
asteroid impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908.[8][9]
In April 2018, the B612 Foundation reported "It is 100 percent certain we'll be hit [by a devastating
asteroid], but we're not 100 percent sure when."[10] Also in 2018, physicist Stephen Hawking, in his
final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, considered an asteroid collision to be the biggest
threat to the planet.[11][12][13] In June 2018, the US National Science and Technology Council warned
that America is unprepared for an asteroid impact event, and has developed and released
the "National Near-Earth Object Preparedness Strategy Action Plan" to better prepare.[14][15][16][17]
[18]
 According to expert testimony in the United States Congress in 2013, NASA would require at least
five years of preparation before a mission to intercept an asteroid could be launched. [19]
Discovery[edit]

Sizes of the first ten asteroids to be discovered, compared to the Moon

243 Ida and its moon Dactyl. Dactyl is the first satellite of an asteroid to be discovered.

The first asteroid to be discovered, Ceres, was originally considered to be a new planet. [a] This was
followed by the discovery of other similar bodies, which, with the equipment of the time, appeared to
be points of light, like stars, showing little or no planetary disc, though readily distinguishable from
stars due to their apparent motions. This prompted the astronomer Sir William Herschel to propose
the term "asteroid",[b] coined in Greek as ἀστεροειδής, or asteroeidēs, meaning 'star-like, star-
shaped', and derived from the Ancient Greek ἀστήρ astēr 'star, planet'. In the early second half of
the nineteenth century, the terms "asteroid" and "planet" (not always qualified as "minor") were still
used interchangeably.[c]
Discovery timeline:[23]