.pdf/page1-1599px-VLT_asteroid_images_aa41781-21_(Figure_1a).pdf.jpg)
Recent from talks
List of exceptional asteroids
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
List of exceptional asteroids
The following is a collection of lists of asteroids of the Solar System that are exceptional in some way, such as their size or orbit. For the purposes of this article, "asteroid" refers to minor planets out to the orbit of Neptune, and includes the dwarf planet Ceres, the Jupiter trojans and the centaurs, but not trans-Neptunian objects (objects in the Kuiper belt, scattered disc or inner Oort cloud). For a complete list of minor planets in numerical order, see List of minor planets.
Asteroids are given minor planet numbers, but not all minor planets are asteroids. Minor planet numbers are also given to objects of the Kuiper belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt but farther out (around 30–60 AU). Asteroids are mostly between 2–3 AU from the Sun or at the orbit of Jupiter, 5 AU from the Sun. Comets are not typically included under minor planet numbers, and have their own naming conventions.
Asteroids are given a unique sequential identifying number once their orbit is precisely determined. Prior to this, they are known only by their systematic name or provisional designation, such as 1950 DA.
Estimating the sizes of asteroids from observations is difficult due to their irregular shapes, varying albedo, and small angular diameter. Observations by the Very Large Telescope of most large asteroids were published 2019–2021.
The number of bodies grows rapidly as the size decreases. Based on IRAS data there are about 140 main-belt asteroids with a diameter greater than 120 km, which is approximately the transition point between surviving primordial asteroids and fragments thereof. For a more complete list, see List of Solar System objects by size.
The inner asteroid belt (defined as the region interior to the 3:1 Kirkwood gap at 2.50 AU) has few large asteroids. Of those in the above list, only 4 Vesta, 19 Fortuna, 6 Hebe, 7 Iris and 9 Metis orbit there. (Sort table by mean distance.)
Below are the sixteen most-massive measured asteroids. Ceres, at a third the estimated mass of the asteroid belt, is half again as massive as the next fifteen put together. The masses of asteroids are estimated from perturbations they induce on the orbits of other asteroids, except for asteroids that have been visited by spacecraft or have an observable moon, where a direct mass calculation is possible. Different sets of astrometric observations lead to different mass determinations; the biggest problem is accounting for the aggregate perturbations caused by all of the smaller asteroids.
The proportions assume that the total mass of the asteroid belt is 2.39×1021 kg, or (12.4±1.0)×10−10 M☉.
Hub AI
List of exceptional asteroids AI simulator
(@List of exceptional asteroids_simulator)
List of exceptional asteroids
The following is a collection of lists of asteroids of the Solar System that are exceptional in some way, such as their size or orbit. For the purposes of this article, "asteroid" refers to minor planets out to the orbit of Neptune, and includes the dwarf planet Ceres, the Jupiter trojans and the centaurs, but not trans-Neptunian objects (objects in the Kuiper belt, scattered disc or inner Oort cloud). For a complete list of minor planets in numerical order, see List of minor planets.
Asteroids are given minor planet numbers, but not all minor planets are asteroids. Minor planet numbers are also given to objects of the Kuiper belt, which is similar to the asteroid belt but farther out (around 30–60 AU). Asteroids are mostly between 2–3 AU from the Sun or at the orbit of Jupiter, 5 AU from the Sun. Comets are not typically included under minor planet numbers, and have their own naming conventions.
Asteroids are given a unique sequential identifying number once their orbit is precisely determined. Prior to this, they are known only by their systematic name or provisional designation, such as 1950 DA.
Estimating the sizes of asteroids from observations is difficult due to their irregular shapes, varying albedo, and small angular diameter. Observations by the Very Large Telescope of most large asteroids were published 2019–2021.
The number of bodies grows rapidly as the size decreases. Based on IRAS data there are about 140 main-belt asteroids with a diameter greater than 120 km, which is approximately the transition point between surviving primordial asteroids and fragments thereof. For a more complete list, see List of Solar System objects by size.
The inner asteroid belt (defined as the region interior to the 3:1 Kirkwood gap at 2.50 AU) has few large asteroids. Of those in the above list, only 4 Vesta, 19 Fortuna, 6 Hebe, 7 Iris and 9 Metis orbit there. (Sort table by mean distance.)
Below are the sixteen most-massive measured asteroids. Ceres, at a third the estimated mass of the asteroid belt, is half again as massive as the next fifteen put together. The masses of asteroids are estimated from perturbations they induce on the orbits of other asteroids, except for asteroids that have been visited by spacecraft or have an observable moon, where a direct mass calculation is possible. Different sets of astrometric observations lead to different mass determinations; the biggest problem is accounting for the aggregate perturbations caused by all of the smaller asteroids.
The proportions assume that the total mass of the asteroid belt is 2.39×1021 kg, or (12.4±1.0)×10−10 M☉.
Recent media