Published 18:53 IST, December 2nd 2020

Asteroids: All you need to know about these planetoids that orbit around the sun

The asteroids are small rock-like formations that move around the sun and are smaller than a planet. In this article, you will know more about them.

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Like planets, satellites and myri or celestial bodies, asteroids are also a part of grand scheme of things. But what exactly are asteroids?

According to NASA's official statement, asteroids are small rocks or rocky formations, which are t eligible to be called a planet, and orbit around sun. y are also kwn as planetoids (small or mir planets). meteorites which land on Earth or burn up in meteor showers are originally thought to be remains of asteroids. undamd parts which land on Earth are called meteorites. solar system has thousands of asteroids, ranging from size of a grain of sand to larger ones such as Ceres, which has a diameter of 940km and is massive eugh that it has been rounded by its own gravity! However, while y are everywhere in solar system, ir total mass is less than Moon, only satellite of Earth.

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Falling asteroids, which are also called meteoroids, are thought to have caused widespre destruction on Earth as y've fallen from skies in past, considered responsible for extinction of entire species and ecosystems such as disaurs. As per an article published on .com, NASA scientists are researching and studying asteroids in detail to find ways to eve such big-scale casualties in future.

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How are asteroids formed?

Asteroids are thought to have been formed via very same processes that led to formation of planets of solar system nearly 4.6 billion years ago. As re are multiple hefty gravitational forces to contend with, starting from Sun and n downwards from Jupiter, y have found ir place. re exists a large asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 

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As per an article on .com, modern ories like Grand Tack and Nice Mode show that planets like Jupiter have moved multiple times before settling to ir present track. This change of movements may have resulted in asteroids colliding with terrestrial planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars, and se incidents in turn emptied and refilled asteroid belt.

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Interesting asteroids facts

asteroids are really interesting. Here are some asteroid facts that you need to check-

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  • y exist in different shapes and sizes. smallest asteroid studied till w is 2015 TC25 which is rock with a 2-meter diameter. largest is Ceres, which is nearly 940 kilometers in diameter. Vishnu Reddy from Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of University of Arizona said in a statement that 2015 TC25 has a very thin chance of collision with earth. According to him, asteroids can be classified as meteoroids that are yet to fall on earth.
  • shapes of asteroids are closely related to ir shapes. smaller ones are often uneven in shape while larger ones like Ceres are almost spherical. Some asteroids also have craters on ir surface, For example, according to .com journal, Vesta has a 460 km wide crater. In general, se asteroids have a surface covered with dust.
  • asteroids have an elliptical path and often tumble because of different gravitational forces y experience.
  • Nearly 150 asteroids have ir own moon which is smaller in size.
  • Binary asteroids that revolve around each or are also re. For example, Phobos and Deimos, twin moons of mars.

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18:53 IST, December 2nd 2020