In Depth | Asteroids - NASA Solar System Exploration
Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The current known asteroid count is: . Most of this ancient space rubble can be found orbiting our Sun between Mars and …
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 | 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. While originally classified as a comet ...
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.
In Depth | Our Solar System - NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system consists of our star, the Sun, and everything bound to it by gravity – the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; dwarf planets such as Pluto; dozens of moons; and millions of asteroids, comets, and meteoroids.
In Depth | Haumea – NASA Solar System Exploration
Introduction. Originally designated 2003 EL61 (and nicknamed Santa by one discovery team), Haumea is located in the Kuiper Belt, a donut-shaped region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune.The other known dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt are Pluto, Eris, and Makemake (dwarf planet Ceres is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter).
RPS 3D Viewer - NASA Solar System Exploration
Jan 9, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
Imaging of Near-Earth Asteroids - NASA Solar System Exploration
Imaging of asteroids is necessary to understand their physical structure for studies of solar system formation, impact hazard, and resources for exploration. Ground based imaging is required to study the population of asteroids.
In Depth | 21P/Giacobini-Zinner - NASA Solar System Exploration
Asteroids, Comets & Meteors. 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Comet Giacobini-Zinner was captured by the Kitt Peak 0.9-m telescope on 31 October 1998. North is up with east to the left. Image Credit: N.A.Sharp/NOAO/AURA/NSF. Discovery. Comet Giacobini-Zinner was discovered on Dec. 20, 1900 by Michel Giacobini at the Nice Observatory in France. The comet ...
In Depth | 1P/Halley – NASA Solar System Exploration
Asteroids, Comets & Meteors 1P/Halley In 1986, the European spacecraft Giotto became one of the first spacecraft ever to encounter and photograph the nucleus of a comet, passing and imaging Halley's nucleus as it receded from the Sun. Credit: Halley Multicolor Camera Team, Giotto Project, ESA | More about this image