Today is International Asteroid Day!
Today is International Asteroid Day!
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current known asteroid count is more than one million!
Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting our Sun between Mars and Jupiter within the main asteroid belt. Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth’s Moon.
This image is an artist’s illustration of our solar system’s asteroid belt.
Image Credit: NASA/McREL