| Asteroid |
Article Index for Asteroid |
Shopping Asteroid |
Articles about Asteroid |
Website Links For Asteroid |
Information AboutAsteroid |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ASTEROID | |
| asteroids | |
| minor planets | |
|
, a C-type Asteroid .]] Asteroids, also called minor planets or planetoids, are a class of , the IAU introduced the term " Small Solar System Bodies " (SSSBs), which includes most objects thus far classified as minor planets, as well as Comet s. At the same time they introduced the term '' Dwarf Planet '' for the largest minor planets. This article deals specifically with the minor planets that orbit in the inner solar system (roughly up to the orbit of Jupiter ). For other types of objects, such as Comets , Trans-Neptunian Object s, and Centaur s, see Small Solar System Body . The first asteroid to be discovered, Ceres , is the largest asteroid known to date and is now classified as a Dwarf Planet . All others are currently classified as Small Solar System Bodies . The vast majority of asteroids are found within the main Asteroid Belt , with Elliptical orbits between those of Mars and Jupiter . It is thought that these asteroids are remnants of the Protoplanetary Disc , and in this region the Accretion of Planetesimals into a larger planet or planets during the formative period of the solar system was prevented by large gravitational perturbations by Jupiter . Some asteroids have Moons or are found in co-orbiting pairs known as Binary Systems . ASTEROIDS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM (white) and the Trojan Asteroids (green)]] |
|
|