Monday, March 06, 2023

Interesting asteroids

Ceres - The largest object in the asteroid belt, and the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system.

Vesta - The second-largest object in the asteroid belt, and has a surface that is covered in deep craters and grooves.

Eros - A near-Earth asteroid that was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in 2001, providing the first close-up views of an asteroid's surface.

Ida - An asteroid that was visited by the Galileo spacecraft in 1993, and is known for having a small moon named Dactyl.

Gaspra - Another asteroid visited by the Galileo spacecraft in 1991, and is notable for its unusual shape.

Mathilde - A large, heavily cratered asteroid that was visited by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft in 1997.

Toutatis - A near-Earth asteroid with a highly irregular shape that has been studied by radar imaging.

Juno - An asteroid in the main asteroid belt that was visited by the Dawn spacecraft in 2011.

Psyche - An asteroid that is thought to be composed largely of metal, and is the target of a planned mission by NASA.

Bennu - A near-Earth asteroid that was recently visited by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which collected a sample of its surface material.

Ryugu - Another near-Earth asteroid that was visited by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft, which also collected a sample of its surface material.

Itokawa - A small, elongated asteroid that was visited by the Hayabusa spacecraft in 2005.

Apophis - A near-Earth asteroid that has been the subject of much attention due to its potential to impact Earth in the future.

Amun - A binary asteroid that consists of two similarly sized objects in close orbit around each other.

Lutetia - An asteroid that was visited by the Rosetta spacecraft in 2010, and is thought to be a primitive object that has undergone minimal alteration since its formation.

Iapetus - A moon of Saturn that is thought to have originated as an asteroid that was captured by the planet's gravity.

Pallas - The third-largest object in the asteroid belt, and is notable for its irregular shape.

Hygiea - A large asteroid in the main asteroid belt that is thought to be a potential dwarf planet.

Hektor - An asteroid in the outer asteroid belt that is the largest known Trojan asteroid, and is thought to be composed largely of water ice.

Davida - A large asteroid in the asteroid belt that is thought to be one of the oldest and most primitive objects in the solar system. 

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