ASTEROID

ASTEROID
 Asteroid are small rocky objects that orbit of the sun.
 The larger asteroids have also been called planetoids.
 Asteroid are made of different kinds of rocks, but some
have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron
 As minor planets in the outer Solar System were discovered
they were typically found to have volatile-rich surfaces
similar to comets.
 The term “asteroid” refers to the minor planets of the inner
Solar System including those co-orbital with Jupiter.
 Diagram of the Solar
System’s asteroid belt
 Types of asteroid

There are 3 main types of asteroid

 C-type (carbonaceous) asteroids- which up most asteroid

and are in the outer belt. With little hydrogen or helium or other
“volatile” elements
 C-type asteroid mainly are in the asteroid belt’s outer regions
 are most common, making up about 75 percent of known
asteroid.
 S-type (siliceous) asteroid- are in the Inner belt,
closer to Mars.
 Are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron
and accounts for about 17 percent of known
asteroid.
 are most common, making up about 75 percent
of known asteroid.
 M-type (metallic) asteroid- they sit in the middle of the
asteroid belt and are mostly made up of metallic iron.
 Are made from nickel and iron and accounts for about 8
percent of known asteroid.
 They are brighter than C-type and they can be found in the
asteroid belt’s middle region.
 How Many Asteroids?
 There are millions of asteroid in our solar System.
Scientist estimate the asteroid belt has between
1.1 and 1.9 million asteroid larger then 1 kilometer
(0.6 mile) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones
 Most of the undiscovered asteroids are likely the
smaller ones (less than 100 km across) which are
more difficult to detect.
 Some astronomers estimate there could be 150
million asteroids in the entire Solar System.
 The Four Largest
Asteroids

Ceres Vesta Pallas

Hygiea
945 km 525.4 km 512 km
430 km
1 Ceres – is the largest object in the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
- With a diameter of 945 km (587 mi)
- Ceres is both the largest of the asteroids and the only unambiguous dwarf planet
inside Neptune’s orbit.
4 Vesta – is one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt, with a mean diameter of 525
kilometres (326 mi)
- It was discovered by the german astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers on 29 March 1807
and is named after Vesta, the virgin goddess of home and hearth from Roman
mythology.
2 Pallas - is the second asteroid to have been discovered (after Ceres), and is one of the
largest asteroid in the Solar System.
- It is the third-most-massive asteroid, being 10-30% less massive than Vesta.
- It is 512 kilometers (318 mi) in diameter
10 Hygiea – is a major asteroid located in the main asteroid belt.
- Is the fourth largest asteroid in the solar system by both volume and mass.
- With somewhat oblong diameters of 350-500 kilometres (220-310 mi) and a mass
estimated to be 2.8% of the total mass of the belt
 Where did asteroids
come from?
 The asteroid 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
collapse. When this happened, most of the material
fell to the enter 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.
 Asteroid
 Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid
Classifications
belt between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits.
-The belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroid larger
than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones.
 Trojans: These asteroid 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 balance by
Trojan’s orbit.
-The Jupiter Trojans form the most significant population of Trojan asteroid and
there are Mars and Neptune Trojans.
 Near-Earth Asteroid: These objects have orbit that pass close by that of
earth.
-Asteroids that actually cross Earths orbit path are known as earth-crosser.
Thank you for
watching and
listening.