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An asteroid is a minor planet —an object that is neither a true planet nor an identified comet — that orbits within the inner Solar System. They are rocky, metallic, or icy bodies with no atmosphere, classified as C-type (carbonaceous), M-type (metallic), or S-type (silicaceous).
Explore the 3D world of Asteroids, Comets and NEOs. Learn about past and future missions, tracking and predicting orbits, and close approaches to Earth.
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Most asteroids can be found orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in ...
6 days ago · Learn about asteroids, small, rocky objects that orbit the sun and are leftovers from the formation of our solar system. Find out how scientists study asteroids and what they can tell us about the history of planets and the sun.
Jul 3, 2024 · Second Close Approach. Assembled into this animation, observations from NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar show the tumbling asteroid 2024 MK shortly after it made closest approach with our planet on June 29. The 150-meter-wide asteroid’s orbit was slightly altered by Earth’s gravity as it passed. Two days later, on June 29, the same ...
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5 days ago · asteroid, any of a host of small bodies, about 1,000 km (600 miles) or less in diameter, that orbit the Sun primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in a nearly flat ring called the asteroid belt. It is because of their small size and large numbers relative to the major planets that asteroids are also called minor planets.
For the most up to date count of asteroids, and comets in our solar system, please visit NASA/JPL's Solar System Dynamics website. Explore the 3D world of asteroids, comets, and NEOs. Learn about past and future missions, tracking and predicting orbits, and close approaches to Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech.
