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Top 10 Facts about Asteroids

Asteroids are celestial bodies often referred to as 鈥渕inor planets鈥�. They are rocky fragments that orbit the sun in the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. They are rocky or metallic objects that have continued to fascinate humans for years. They come in different sizes and shapes usually ranging from 1 meter to one thousand kilometers in Diameter. Large asteroids are referred to as dwarf planets made of metallic, rocky, and icy bodies with no atmosphere. They are about one million known asteroids and come in three different types including C-type, M-type, and the S-type. These types are identified by their make-up components which are carbonaceous, metallic, and silicaceous. Over the years these bodies have had the attention of scientists in the quest to study their potential to collide with the earth. Sometimes they are viewed as potential threats that could collide with the earth and bring forth catastrophic damage. However, the study of these enigmatic objects has an immense opportunity to explore signs of extraterrestrial life and the possibility of valuable minerals from the asteroids. In this article, we will explore some of the most intriguing facts about asteroids.

1. Asteroids are in Millions in the Solar system

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According to scientists, there are millions of asteroids orbiting the sun. Most of them are located between mars and Jupiter.  Scientist claim that once Jupiter was formed, its mass gravity held most of the remaining space rocks and prevented them from forming other planets between itself and Mars. These asteroids that were held together formed the asteroid belt where millions of them orbit. However, these millions of asteroids are of varying sizes and shapes and orbit the sun in wide elliptical orbits.

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2. Some of the Asteroids became the Moons of Planets

Some of the planets have moons that came from asteroids. While the asteroids are orbiting the sun, they collide and sometimes cross paths, or others ram into the planets. When this happens, the asteroids get pulled by the planet’s gravity and as a result, end up becoming their moons. Some of these planets that have their moons as a result of this action by the asteroids include Uranus, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn.

3. Asteroids can have Tails, Rings, and Moons

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Asteroids have continued to fascinate the human race with some of their unique characteristics and makeup. Asteroids exhibit some of the characteristics of space dust and rubble. They are small objects with low gravity. When these small objects come to the periphery of the larger rocks they are pulled towards the larger rocks and hence become their moon. The asteroids can also pull steam of dust particles circling them to form rings. Other times, the small asteroids, two or more could fuse and form tail鈥搇ike structures to the asteroid.

4. Asteroids are rich in water and Minerals

Research has shown that asteroids are very rich in minerals such as silica, metals, and carbon. Astronomers have gone ahead to argue that this could have happened in the early days when asteroids frequently collided with the planets and as a result, they delivered the minerals to the planets. Some of the steroids also have evidence of water 鈥搃ce that is trapped in the rubble mass. However, scientists are exploring the possibility of several minerals being on the asteroids and have intentions to mine the mineral repositories. The scientist also believes that the carbon deposits from the asteroids could have influenced the life processes on earth.

5. Asteroids are relics from when the Solar System came into being

Asteroids are believed to have existed billions of years ago during the formation of the solar system. They were formed as a fusion of space dust and debris which joined to form rocks and rubble. The rocks churned and they forced into each other coming up with the enormous formation of the planets and the moons. Asteroids happen to be the leftovers of the ramming that remained unchanged over the years.

Read also; 15 Fun Facts about Earth鈥檚 Atmosphere

6. They are odd-shaped Masses

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Asteroids are odd-shaped masses that have been in existence for billions of years ago. These rocky masses do not have a definite shape and are irregularly shaped. They vary in size as well and mostly range between 2 m to 1000 m. However, many of them attracted dust and are covered with layers of dust. They have weak gravity and cannot hold an atmosphere with an estimated temperature of about -70 degrees Celsius.

7. Some of the Asteroids have water Gullies

From an observation made by scientists in 2015, some of the asteroids contained water trails on the asteroid Vesta. These water trails are also referred to as gullies which form when small asteroids collide with larger asteroids. As a result of the collision, the impact caused the water ice on the smaller asteroids to melt which trickles on the bigger ones and leaves water trails on the rocks.   

8. Most of the asteroids are Concentrated between mars and Jupiter

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Most of the asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers have found out that there is more than one million asteroids’ main asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter. Scientist claim that once Jupiter was formed, it held most of the rocky objects and prevented them from forming other planets which cause most of them to remain orbiting between the two planets. However, other asteroids are located inside the orbit of Venus.

9. Dinosaurs were killed by an Asteroid

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It is believed that there were several extinctions since the formation of the earth. One of the extinctions happens to be the dinosaurs which are believed to have been caused by asteroids about 66 million years ago. The scientific community claims that their extinction was caused by a fall of a 10-kilometer asteroid that happened on the Yucatan Peninsula. The impact led to the formation of a crater of about 180 kilometers. The dinosaurs died as a result of the chemical composition of the sediment.

Read also; Top 15 Facts About the Solar System

10. The largest Asteroid in the Solar System is Ceres

One of the famous and largest asteroids in the solar system is Ceres. It is approximately nine hundred and forty kilometers in diameter. Ceres is a dwarf planet that orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was discovered on the 1^st of January 1801. However, is very dim and cannot be observed by the naked eye except under very dark skies.

In a nuts shell, asteroids are fascinating rocky objects mostly orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. They are of different sizes and shape as well as low gravity. The study of asteroids plays a significant role in enabling us to understand and have a better view of the earth. However, scientists continue to unravel the origin and composition of the objects.