Learn About Asteroids: Facts and Insights

Many astronomical events keep happening around our Earth in the universe along with many asteroids which keep revolving around the planets. In this article, we will learn what are asteroids. How big are they and can asteroids cause any harm to our planet?

What are Asteroids?

It is said that there are about 20 lakh asteroids roaming in our solar system. But what are these asteroids called? Asteroid is considered to be a broken piece of a planet or star. They are smaller in size than the planets. Most of the asteroids in our solar system are found in the asteroid belt orbiting Mars and Jupiter.

An Asteroid is also called a Meteorite. Actually, asteroids or Meteorites are celestial bodies that keep moving in the universe. In size, they are smaller than planets and larger than meteorites. The first asteroid was found by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1819 and was originally considered a new planet. The name of that asteroid was Ceres.

There are millions of such small and big rocks in our solar system, which while revolving around the Sun many times come close to the Earth, pass by it or come into its atmosphere, burn up and fall into pieces on the Earth.

How are Asteroids formed in our Solar System?

During the formation of the Solar System, dust and rocks revolving around the Sun were pulled together by gravity and the planets were formed. In this process, not all the dust and rocks turned into planets and some became small planets, called asteroids. Astronomers believe that the asteroid belt is made of material that never became a planet and broke up a long time ago. The asteroids present in the asteroid belt are of different sizes. Some asteroids are less than a mile in diameter, while some are much larger.

What is Asteroid Belt?

Astronomers believe that the asteroid belt is made up of material that never became a planet or the remains of a planet that broke up a long time ago. Asteroids in the asteroid belt come in a variety of sizes. Some are very small (less than a mile in diameter), while others are quite large.

If we talk about the initial mass of the Asteroid Belt, it was probably several times the total mass of the Earth.

The asteroid belt is a region of space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt is present in an area spanning from 330 million kilometers to 480 million kilometers from the Sun. Compared to Earth, the asteroid belt is two and a half times further away from the Sun.

How big are Asteroids?

There are many asteroids in the universe whose diameter is hundreds of miles and most are the size of a small stone. The largest asteroid is called Ceres. It is about one-fourth the size of the Moon and orbits the Sun in a region called the asteroid belt, between Mars and Jupiter.

Are Asteroids and Meteorites the same thing?

Meteorites are part of asteroids. When asteroids break into parts, a small piece gets separated from them, which is called a Meteoroid. When these Meteorites reach close to the Earth, they burn up after coming in contact with the atmosphere and we see a light which looks like a shooting star i.e. a falling star but these are not actually stars.

Which is the nearest asteroid to Earth?

The smallest known near-Earth asteroid is 2022 WJ1 with an absolute magnitude of 33.58, corresponding to an estimated diameter of about 0.7 meters (2.3 ft).

Asteroids around 4 meters in size hit Earth on average once every 1.3 years. These usually explode in the atmosphere and do not cause much damage. There are more than 34,000 asteroids near Earth.

Why can't we see Asteroids?

Asteroids cannot be seen with the naked eye because they are very small and faint. Moreover, they are often hidden in the glare of the sun. Large telescopes are used to detect asteroids. However, even with these telescopes, small asteroids that are detected in less than a day cannot be seen.

How big of an Asteroid will destroy the Earth?

As per NASA scientists, it would take an asteroid 60 miles (96 kilometers) wide to completely destroy life on Earth.

Asteroids based Incidents

An incident had happened in 1994. 10-12 meteorites the size of Earth had collided with Jupiter, where the scene was no less than a cataclysm. Till date, their fire and destruction on that planet have not stopped.

Following Apophis's discovery in 2004, the asteroid was reported to have a 2.7% chance of hitting Earth in 2029. The full name of this asteroid is Apophis 99942. However, additional observations have shown that the asteroid will not hit the Earth in the coming years.

What will happen if a 500-meter asteroid hits the Earth?

Even a small 500-meter diameter asteroid can deliver a powerful blow to Earth and release more than 10 gigatons of energy. If it hits the ground, the impact will carve a crater 9 kilometers wide and 0.7 kilometers deep.

Asteroid Day is an annual global event held on June 30 every year.