53 Mind- Blowing Asteroid Facts For Kids That Adore Solar System

Asteroids are the fastest moving celestial bodies.

Asteroids are known to be crossing the Earth's surface. The average speed recorded is around 55923.5 mph (90000 kph).

There are different kinds of celestial bodies we can find in space. Some can be considered the big gas giants while others tend to have a strong reliable surface. Some of the celestial bodies are made up of dust, metals, or even some elements. Did you know that Asteroids are as old as the formation of the solar system? There are different types of asteroids that are categorized based on the composition of the celestial body and also depending upon the light emitted by it.

You can find millions of asteroids in space just like there are millions of stars in space. There is a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt. Ceres is called the dwarf planet which is present in the asteroid belt. It is the only planet that has been found till now.

Yes, there are millions of asteroids here but have you ever wondered about the distance between the two asteroids? Two asteroids, according to scientists, are placed around 6,00,000 mi (965606.4 km) apart. With this calculation, you can surely guess how big this space or the universe is.

If you liked our suggestions for 19 mind-blowing asteroid facts for kids that adore solar system then why not take a look at Arkansas symbols, or battle of 73 Easting facts.

Define Asteroid With Example

To start with some amazing examples of asteroids, the definition of asteroids is something that must be known. Asteroids are small rocky bodies that orbit the sun.

• Asteroids are found in between the orbits of the planets. More precisely, asteroids are known to be present in between the orbits of the small planet Mars and Jupiter.
• The asteroids in the solar system are known to be orbiting around the center star Sun, which is known to have an asteroid belt of around 19,400,000 mi (31221273.6 km) between the planets of the solar system. Asteroids orbit way too quickly in the eccentric orbits.
• Another definition of asteroids orbit is that these celestial bodies can be termed minor planets.
• The asteroid is a unique celestial body in the solar system which is not a planet not a comet too. Similarly, you must have heard that Pluto was disregarded as a part of the solar system.
• Pluto is actually a planet that is more specifically called a dwarf planet. It has fewer planet-like characteristics, according to the international astronomical union (IAU).

Formation Of Asteroid

Talking about asteroids would definitely make you wonder how these minor planets are formed. After the formation of the eight planets in the solar system, the rocky bodies with an irregular shape and big sizes became the leftovers or the dust particles of the solar system.

• It is also told by the scientists that asteroids formed due to the planet Jupiter’s gravitational pull for Mars.
• Asteroids have known to be formed around 4.6 billion years ago.
• The formation of an asteroid was the result of the breakdown of the big celestial body which was made up of gas and dust. This process is also true for the formation of the biggest star Sun and even the planets in the solar system.
• It is to be noted that the formation of the asteroids resulted in an inner asteroid belt. Asteroids are always found in the main asteroid belt between the planets Mars and Jupiter.

Types Of Asteroid

As it is known, asteroids are rocky surfaces that are made of silicate rocks. Clay is also a constituent of the asteroids.

• The stony asteroids are known as the S types which have silicate material in them. It also consists of nickel-iron.
• Another type that contains only nickel-iron is called the M-type asteroid or metallic asteroid. These metallic asteroids have 80% iron and 20% a mixture of metallic nickel iron and other precious metals.
• Another type of asteroid found in concrete asteroids are known as C type asteroid. These can be called the basic asteroids that have a dark body and are made up of clay and silicate rocks. These are also called carbonaceous asteroids.
• These carbonaceous asteroids form several asteroids, almost around 75% of known asteroids.
• Asteroid Bennu is one of the largest asteroids and famous asteroids, and it is said that it may hit Earth at any time.
• Asteroids orbit the sun and Bennu asteroids orbit the Sun every one year and two months.
• Another major type to know is the silicaceous asteroids. These silicaceous asteroids are mostly socks and metals and are more popularly known as a stony type instead of using the word asteroid.
• There are some of the largest asteroid belts in the solar system. These asteroid belts are known as Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea.
• Scientists have to say that these asteroid belts make up 50 percent of the many asteroids present in the Milkyway galaxy.
• Apart from these, there are many different asteroid belts. For example, 53 Europa, 704 Interamnia, 511 Davida, 87 Sylvia, and so on.
• Ever heard of Trojan Asteroids orbit? Well, the trojan is a type of celestial body in space that is just like asteroids. These two are known to have orbits and it is a near earth asteroid, especially the second trojan.
• The orbits of the planets or the orbits of the big moons in the galaxy can be seen to have the presence of these celestial bodies. Hence, the trojan asteroids orbits can also be found near the planets.
• The first such Earth trojan was found in the year 2011. However, since the trojan asteroids share the orbits of others, many people may think that maybe it is a little unstable for the trojan asteroids. However, this is definitely not the case.
• These are dynamically stable which reside inside the 60 degrees ahead of the planet Jupiter. Jupiter trojans can be termed under the category of the largest asteroid among all the well-known asteroids.

How many asteroids hit Earth every day?

Since asteroids are all over between the planet Mars and the planet Jupiter, asteroids do cross near the Earth's atmosphere.

• So asteroids do tend to hit the earth. Each year, as many as 500 asteroids, would hit the Earth’s surface.
• The asteroid impact on the earth's atmosphere is not known because of the fact that most asteroids do deep down in the water bodies or hit isolated areas.
• You would surely be surprised to know the fact that the last asteroid which hit the Earth had an impact over the Earth's surface and the incident happened around 66 million years ago.
• This asteroid hitting on the earth’s surface during this time had caused the extinction event of the cretaceous-Paleogene.
• The asteroid was named Chicxulub impactor which was highly large in size. The known diameter of this asteroid was around 6 mi (9.6 km). The area which was affected by this asteroid is called the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
• The meteor was called the Tunguska meteor that affected the remote area of Siberia. This happened in the year 1908 and it certainly happened before the Chelyabinsk event.
• Ever wondered, because asteroids hit the earth's surface, could someone could be hurt or hit by it? Well, the first asteroid to hit a human being was in the year 1954. This was a woman named Ann Hodges who was sleeping at home and got hit. This is the only hit record known till now. However, it was a relief that the unlucky lady survived the situation.
• So the expected asteroid which would be hitting the Earth’s surface next is called the Apophis which is around 1213.9 ft (370 m) in the size. The expected hit would be anytime in the upcoming 80 thousand years.
• Asteroids hitting earth can be devastating. It is highly difficult to stop the natural forces. Hence, the possible solution is to push the asteroid away into some other orbit that would divert the collision. This process is indeed difficult.
• There are many NEO (Near Earth Objects) projects which constantly determine through the telescope survey or other methods to see if an asteroid is going to hit the earth. The technologies have become advanced and an asteroid hitting can be predicted.
• There are some potentially known asteroids that can hit earth, such as asteroid Itokawa which is probably going to be highly dangerous for the earth.
• Similarly, there are also some near earth asteroids, one of the classifications of NEO, to note. Recently, NASA launched a mission to crash into near earth asteroids in an attempt at its motion in space.
• The beautiful Milkyway galaxy has amazing celestial bodies to observe. Starting from the beautiful planets to even the tiny bodies moving in space, space overall looks like a great place.
• Since asteroids are known to be in belts between the planet Mars and Jupiter, it is very obvious when an asteroid will hit the Earth's surface.
• Asteroids keep hitting the Earth’s surface. Most of these are not recognized as they go into water bodies or land in an isolated place.
• As we're talking about asteroids hitting the earth, quite a great event happened around 66 million years ago. It was destructive as well as a great moment that wiped out the existing species - the dinosaurs.
• It was the Cretaceous – Paleogene extinction event that is most talked about while mentioning the first asteroid and Earth collision.
• The asteroid, which hit the earth at that time, was known to be more than 6 mi (9.6 km) in diameter. This huge event was studied by the geochemists and was even proved with some concrete evidence of the event.
• Even the geochemists guess that this huge event would also have a high impact on the flora life too.
• All the credits of this amazing discovery and evidence belong to the famous Nobel Prize winner Luis Walter Alvarez and his son Walter.

Did You Know...

Asteroids are observed as small rocky celestial bodies and also seen as a minor planet of the inner Solar System.

• These small rocky objects or space rocks revolve around the sun and the earth's surface. Since asteroids are this small the asteroids are also named planetoids.
• The cratered and pitted regions of the Earth's moon we see are the result of asteroids. There is a connection here. The asteroid was given its name not because it was star shaped, but it looked like a star.
• Asteroids are objects in the solar system, probably the leftovers after all the planets were made. These are seen in belts all the time. An asteroid belt is stretched between the planet Mars and the planet Jupiter.
• The asteroid belt is divided into an inner asteroid belt and an outer belt. The pieces that orbit Mars form the inner belt while those that orbit Jupiter from the outer asteroid belt.
• An amazing speed fact about an asteroid is that it travels at a huge speed, which is known to be 55923.4 mph (90000 kph).
• Asteroids tend to get into the orbits of planets too. There are collisions with asteroids and planet earth, which proves that humans might have stepped somewhere on an asteroid at some point.
• Scientists have identified around 600,000 asteroids but there are many more to go. These are irregularly shaped - both small asteroids and other largest asteroids.
• Pallas and Vesta asteroids are considered rocky planets or space rocks in an asteroid belt that can be categorized as terrestrial planets. The most interesting fact about asteroids is the presence of moons, rings, and tails too.
• An asteroid imitates a planet, but is still not considered a true planet. There are a total of four large asteroids in space known till now as the largest. These are called the Ceres, the Vesta, the Pallas, and the Hygiea.
• Ceres was the first asteroid to be discovered. It is found by scientists that some big asteroids due to the planet's gravity have become the moons of a particular planet.