asteroid belt
DESCRIPTION
Asteroid Belt. The Missing Planet?. Physical Characteristics. Definition : Composed of irregularly-shaped objects 0.7 to 1.7 million asteroids (1 km or larger) ½ Mass is contained in 4 largest asteroids Ceres Vesta Pallas Hygiea Largest Asteroid : Ceres Diameter : 590 miles. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Physical Characteristics Definition :
Composed of irregularly-shaped objects 0.7 to 1.7 million asteroids (1 km or larger)
½ Mass is contained in 4 largest asteroids Ceres Vesta Pallas Hygiea
Largest Asteroid : Ceres Diameter : 590 miles
Asteroid Belt Orbit Location
Region between Mars & Jupiter Average Distance to Sun
186 to 370 million miles Main Belt : 3.27 AU
Greatest concentration of bodies Period of Revolution
3 to 6 Earth years Asteroid material thinly distributed
Spacecraft pass through without a collision
Ceres Surface & Atmosphere
Terrain : Smooth with impact craters Temperature Range
-106 ˚C to -38 ˚C
Atmosphere Weak (Composed of water vapor)
Geology Thin dusty outer layer Water-Ice Layer Rocky Inner Core
Appears white & blue (possible comet properties)
Asteroid Belt Discovery 1st Asteroid Discovered By : Giuseppe Piazzi
Date Discovered : January 1, 1801
NASA Missions :
NEAR : Mathilde (1997), Eros (1998)
Dawn : Vesta (2011) & Ceres (2015)
Hayabusa : Landed on Itokawa (2005)
Asteroid Belt Facts Asteroids are also known as “minor
planets” Phaeton
Hypothetical planet to exist Disrupted due to Jupiter’s pull
Chicxulub Crater Formed 65 mya near Fort Dodge, Iowa
Allende Meteorite Evidence of supernova 4.5 billion years ago
Tunguska Event Asteroid exploded in air in Tunguska,
Siberia (1906)
Meteor Crater, Arizona
Asteroid Belt Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
7Z4GdGwu9dM
Literature Cited http://ksiezyce.astrowww.pl/asteroidbelt_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt
http://www.solarviews.com/eng/html
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Asteroid_belt
http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/Asteroidbelt