| Asteroids | |
| An asteroid
is a rocky mass up to several hundred kilometers wide that revolves around the Sun. Asteroids are sometimes called minor planets. Most asteroids orbit in the asteroid belt, a region between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids have uneven shapes. Some have smaller asteroids orbiting them. The smallest asteroids are pebble-sized. Most asteroids complete a revolution in three to six years. |
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| Can Earth be hit by asteroids?
It has happened, and you can see the huge craters that have been the result. Such collisions are very rare. Fortunately, Jupiter’s gravity holds most asteroids in the area beyond Mars. |
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| Most asteroids have odd shapes. This one looks like a light brown flying nose! The largest asteroids are nearly spherical in shape, with diameters of 250 to 1000 kilometers. |
| Asteroid
Gaspra Gaspra was one of the first asteroids to be studied up close. It is only 19 kilometers long and about 12 kilometers wide. |
| Asteroid Ida Ida is in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ida is about 58 kilometers long and 23 kilometers wide. |
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| Asteroid
Eros In 2001, Eros became
the first asteroid to be orbited and landed upon by a spacecraft. Eros is 33 kilometers long and 13 kilometers thick. This image shows evidence of craters, boulders, and layers of rock. |
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