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* Area: The main asteroid belt extends from 255 to 600 million km (2.15 to 3.3 astronomical units) from the Sun and may contain over a million objects bigger than 1 km across.
* Diameter: The largest objects are Ceres (1,003 km), Pallas (608 km) and Vesta (538 km).
* Total Mass: The total mass of all the asteroids is less than that of the Moon. There are 26 known asteroids larger than 200 km across.
* Location: The Asteroid Belt is a region between the inner planets and outer planets where thousands of asteroids are found orbiting around the Sun.
Size
How big are the asteroids? Ceres is the largest asteroid in the asteroid belt and is the only dwarf planet in the belt. Pallas is second largest and the second asteroid to have been discovered. More than half the mass of the main belt is contained in the four largest objects: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas and Hygiea.
Composition
The current main belt consists primarily of three categories of asteroids: C-type (carbonaceous asteroids), S-type (silicate asteroids) and M-type (metallic asteroids).
Water
Scientists have detected water-ice and carbon-based organic compounds on the surface of asteroid Themis. The discovery of water ice on 24 Themis was announced in April 2010. Two teams of researchers independently verified that the asteroid 24 Themis is coated in a layer of frost. This discovery has changed scientists perspectives on asteroids.
The discovery may also be a boon to NASA's new space exploration program which is aiming to send astronauts to visit a near-Earth asteroid in the future.
History
Scientists believe the asteroids are the pieces of a planet that never formed. One possible theory is the ongoing gravitational tug-of-war between Jupiter and Mars has prevented the pieces from bonding together, hence, this planet was never created.
Exploration
Missions:
The first flybys of asteroids were performed in 1991 and 1993 by NASA's Galileo spacecraft and in 1996 by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft.
In the 1980's, the Soviet Union was planning to send a probe to Vesta. No information available on its status.
NASA's Dawn mission is on a 3-billion-km (1.7-billion-mile) journey to the asteroid belt to orbit asteroid Vesta and dwarf planet Ceres. Scientists hope to study the conditions of the solar system's earliest days.
More Facts on the Asteroid Belt - Did you know?
Other regions of small solar system bodies include the Centaurs, the Kuiper belt and scattered disk and the Oort cloud. Beyond the orbit of Neptune lies an even large and more populous region of minor bodies known as the Kuiper belt.
When was the Asteroid Belt Discovered?
The process of discovering the asteroid belt began in the late 1700s. The first asteroid was discovered in 1801 by Italian astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi named Ceres. Ceres is now regarded as a dwarf planet. Ceres was given dwarf planet status in 2006, along with Pluto, Eris, Makemake and Haumea.
Books:
Asteroids and Dwarf Planets and How to Observe Them (Astronomers' Observing Guides) by Roger Dymock
From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, eCampus.com
Guide to the Universe: Asteroids, Comets, and Dwarf Planets (Greenwood Guides to the Universe) by Andrew S. Rivkin
From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk,
Amazon.ca
Impact!: The Threat of Comets and Asteroids
by Gerrit L. Verschuur
From Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca
What else can I help you with?
Are asteroid belts celestial objects?
Asteroid belts are not individual celestial objects themselves, but rather regions in space between planets that contain numerous small rocky bodies called asteroids. These belts are typically located in the inner regions of the solar system, such as between Mars and Jupiter.
What kind of photos are space photos?
Space photos are generally pictures or detailed drawings depicting images of space or the cosmos. This includes pictures of stars, planets, asteroid belts, moons, and meteors.
How many belts does the sun have?
The sun has 2 belts ,the asteroid and the kuiper belt.
Where are most asteroid belts located?
orbiting the sun
The belts of the solar system?
asteroid belt and kipter belt.
What separates the inner plants and the outer plants?
the asteroid belts
What 2 planets is between the asteroid belts?
mars andjupiter
Where do asteroid belts come from?
Some astronomers think that asteroid came from fragments of a planet that disrupted by a strong gravitational force.
What is some information on asteroid belts?
The asteroid belt in our solar system, separates the inner and outer planets from each other.
Are all asteroids in the main asteroid belt?
No. There are other asteroid belts besides the main asteroid belt in our solar system. Also, there are asteroids outside our solar system.
What is in a space?
An asteroid
What is made up of dust and rock?
Deserts Asteroid belts Barren mountains
