In Depth | Asteroids – NASA Solar System Exploration Most asteroids are irregularly shaped, though a few are nearly spherical, and they are often pitted or cratered As they revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbits, the asteroids also rotate, sometimes quite erratically, tumbling as they go
In Depth | Oumuamua – NASA Solar System Exploration The first known interstellar object to visit our solar system, 1I 2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, was discovered Oct 19, 2017 by the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS1 telescope, funded by NASA’s Near-Earth Object Observations (NEOO) Program, which finds and tracks asteroids and comets in Earth’s neighborhood
Asteroids, Comets Meteors - NASA Solar System Exploration Our solar system’s small bodies – asteroids, comets, and meteors – pack big surprises These chunks of rock, ice, and metal are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4 6 billion years ago
In Depth | Perseids – NASA Solar System Exploration Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from broken asteroids When comets come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere and disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky The Comet
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration Researchers have found that some near-Earth asteroids are actually burned-out comets, and most of them would have started out in the Kuiper Belt Many comets crash into the Sun or the planets
Psyche Raw Image: Imager A - NASA Solar System Exploration BY DESTINATION Earth (1) Mars (2) Jupiter (95) Saturn (83) Uranus (27) Neptune (14) Pluto (5) Asteroids, Comets Meteors About Asteroids, Comets Meteors BY TYPE Meteors Meteorites Asteroids Comets More
Planet Compare - NASA Solar System Exploration NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system