asteroid
asteroid A small rocky or metallic body orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter (from about 2.2 to 3.2 AU (see ASTRONOMICAL UNIT), with one family (Trojans) at 5 AU occupying two of the jovian Lagrangian Points). Two families (Apollo and Aten, as well as some Amor objects) have orbits that cross Earth's orbit. The largest asteroid is 1 Ceres (diameter 987 ± 150 km). About 30 exceed 200 km in diameter and over 3000 have been identified. Meteorites are probable samples of the asteroid belt. See APOLLO (1862); CASTALIA (4769); CERES (1); CHIRON (2060); EROS (433); GASPRA (951); GEOGRAPHOS (1620); ICARUS (1566); IDA (243); JUNO (3); MCAULIFFE (3352); MATHILDE (253); MIMISTROBELL (3840); NEREUS (4660); PALLAS (2); SHIPKA (2530); TOUTATIS (4179); and VESTA (4).
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asteroid
