Interesting discoveries about asteroids in the solar system

Asteroid (Asteroid) is a celestial celestial body, without air, orbiting the Sun and is smaller than the planet but larger than a meteorite and not a comet.

1. Unknown things about asteroid belt
2. NASA will shoot asteroids close to Earth

From asteroids (Asteroid), in Greek meaning "like stars" was placed by British astronomer William Herschel.

Asteroid formation

Asteroids are remnants from the formation of the solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. When Jupiter was formed, it prevented planetary objects from forming in the space between Mars and Jupiter, causing small objects there to collide with each other and break into asteroids.

Classification and number of asteroids

It is estimated that scientists have between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than a kilometer in the asteroid belt in the orbit of Jupiter and Mars.

Asteroid belt.(Photo: wikimedia)

Scientists classify asteroids based on their composition:

1. C-carbon asteroids, which are gray in color, account for 75% of known asteroids and lie in the outer perimeter of the main belt.
2. S-type asteroids, silicon, are slightly greenish to reddish, accounting for 17% of known asteroids and occupy a large number in the inner region of the main belt.
3. The M-type asteroids, metallic, are reddish, in the middle of the main belt.

The size and mass of asteroids

The Eros asteroid was taken from a height of about 200 km.(Photo: NASA.)

If all asteroids in the solar system pool together into a sphere, it is still smaller than the Moon (about 3.474km in diameter).

It is estimated that the mass of all asteroids in the Main Ring is only about 3.0-3.6 × 1021 kg, which is about 4% of our Moon's mass.

1991 BA, one of the smallest asteroids, was discovered in 1991, with a width of only 6 meters.

Largest asteroid

Ceres asteroid.(Photo: NASA.)

Giuseppe Piazzi, an Italian astronomer, discovered the largest Ceres asteroid in the solar system in 1801. This giant asteroid has orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres is so big that its diameter is up to 940km, a quarter of the estimated total mass of all asteroids in the asteroid belt combined. Currently, Ceres is considered a dwarf planet.

Asteroids near the Earth

The asteroid near the Earth is an asteroid located less than 44 million kilometers from Earth's orbit. As of June 2017, scientists discovered all 16,209 near-Earth asteroids, of which 1,803 asteroids are potentially dangerous.

The number of asteroids flying through the Earth's atmosphere

Every year there is usually an asteroid-sized asteroid that collides with Earth's atmosphere. It will then turn into a giant fireball and be completely burned before reaching the ground.

Moon of asteroids

Based on specific orbital properties, asteroids can assemble into asteroid groups. The moons of asteroids are orbiting asteroids larger than asteroids.

Scientists estimate that about 1/6 of asteroids have a small companion moon. Even some asteroids still have two moons.

In 1993, scientists discovered the first asteroid-moon system, the Ida and the Moon Dactyl.