Fun Fact 2: The name Asteroid means 'like stars'; at night asteroids sometimes shine
Fun Fact 3: Asteroids were discovered in 1801 by an Italian astronomer named Piazzi
Fun Fact 4: 90% of asteroids in the solar system orbit in the area between Mars and Jupiter; the region is called the asteroid belt
Fun Fact 5: Asteroids can generally be categorized in one of three main groups; carbonaceous, silicaceous or metallic
Fun Fact 6: The most common type of Asteroids is Carbonaceous. Carbonaceous asteroids are carbon based; they are stony and dark in colour
Fun Fact 7: Silicaceous asteroids are less stony, pale in color and contain metal
Fun Fact 8: Metallic asteroids contain metals, especially iron or iron nickel
Fun Fact 9: Scientists believe that Asteroids are around 5,000 million years old
Fun Fact 10: Asteroids are sometimes referred to as minor planets. Over 30,000 minor planets have been discovered in the solar system
Fun Fact 11: The biggest asteroid is 540 kilometers in diameter! Its name is Pallas. The asteroid Vesta is nearly as large; it measures 530 kilometers in diameter
Fun Fact 12: The surface of an asteroid is uneven marked with craters, scars and dimples. These were caused by collisions with other objects in space
Fun Fact 13: Pieces of rock and debris that fall from Asteroids are called Meteoroids. When Meteoroids hit earth's atmosphere they burn and produce meteors or shooting stars
Fun Fact 14: The first close up photos of an asteroid were taken from space probe Galileo in 1991. The Asteroid was called Gaspa; it measures 20 kilometers long
Fun Fact 15: On February 12 2001, after orbiting for twelve month, space probe NEAR-Shoemaker landed on asteroid Eros. NEAR-Shoemaker was the first spacecraft dedicated to researching asteroids |
