All about Asteroids

What are asteroids and how are they classified? Find out and more…

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From among the mist of furious gas clouds rose the sun, the planets and the moons — forming the very core of our solar system. Some other bodies also emerged out of this nursery of gas clouds. These cosmic bodies were not big enough to become planets. These bodies are called asteroids. What are the characteristics and classification of asteroids — and are they dangerous? Let’s find out.

Asteroids are beautiful pieces of rock wandering around our solar system. They can be as large as a school bus or even cities. All of the asteroids combined together are no bigger than the moon of our planet. Most of them are located in what is called an asteroid belt, which is a doughnut-shaped region between Mars and Jupiter. Why do they orbit around this region? Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. So when these chunks of asteroids were formed, the huge gravitational pull of Jupiter pulled them towards it. Now, unlike the moons, asteroids are comparatively so small that the gravitational pull can suck them right onto the planet’s surface rather than letting them roam around in an orbit with a sustainable angular velocity. The reason this does not happen is that the asteroid is pulled from both sides by either planet. This explains the shape of the asteroid belt being a doughnut.