LESSON 1: ASTEROIDS

on

 Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 million years ago

The current known asteroid count is: 1113527

There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them are located in the main asteroid belt - a region between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. 

Composition

C-TYPE (CHRONDRITE)

— most common

— Composition & Appearance: clay and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance.

—They are among the most ancient objects in the solar system.

S-TYPE (STONY)

— Made up of silicate materials and mickel-iron. 

M-TYPE

—Metallic (nickel-iron). 

—The asteroids' compositional differences are related to how far from the Sun they formed. 

Asteroid Classifications

MAIN ASTEROID BELT

The majority of known asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, generally with not very elongated orbits. The belt is estimated to contain between 1.1 and 1.9 million asteroids larger than 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) in diameter, and millions of smaller ones

TROJANS

These asteroids share an orbit with a larger planet, but do not collide with it.

NEAR-EARTH ASTEROIDS

These objects have orbits that pass close by that of Earth. Asteroids that actually cross Earth's orbital path are known as Earth-crossers.

HOW ASTEROIDS GET THEIR NAMES

  • The International Astronomical Union's Committee on Small Body Nomenclature is not very strict when it comes to naming asteroids. Asteroids are also given a number, for example (99942) Apophis. 
  • The Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics keeps a fairly current list of asteroid names
  • As a result, out there orbiting the Sun we have a giant space rock named for Mr. Spock – a cat named for the character of "Star Trek" fame. There's also a space rock named for the late rock musician Frank Zappa. There are more somber tributes, too, such as the seven asteroids named for the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia killed in 2003.
  • Asteroids are also named for places and a variety of other things. (The IAU discourages naming asteroids for pets, so Mr. Spock stands alone)
An eight-kilometer-wide asteroid between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter was recently named after a Filipino neurosurgeon. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) officially named asteroid 1993 FN41 as 7431 Jettaguilar, in honor of Dr. Jose “Jett” Aguilar, a neurosurgeon at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, and Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

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