The universe is a fantastic thing to know. Every day we learn more about it and we are deciphering the mysteries that concern the operation of everything. Surely you have seen or talked about asteroids. It is also possible that you have confused them with meteorites because you do not know the concepts well. Asteroids are nothing more than small objects formed by rocks, mainly, and that, like the rest of the planets, orbit around the Sun.
If you have questions about what asteroids are and how they differ from meteorites, this is your post. We will explain all this to you in great detail.
What is an asteroid and what characteristics does it have
As we have mentioned, an asteroid is nothing more than a rocky object orbiting the Sun. Although its size is not the same as that of a planet, its orbit is similar. There are many asteroids that are orbiting in our Solar systemThe vast majority of them form what we know as the asteroid beltThis region is located between the orbits of Mars y Jupiter. Like planets, their orbit is elliptical.
They are not only found in this belt, but can also be found in the trajectory of other planets. This means that this rocky object has the same path around the sun, but there is nothing to worry about. You may think that if an asteroid is in the same orbit as our planet, the time will come when it could collide and cause disasters. This is not like this. There is no need to worry as they do not collide.
The speed at which asteroids that are in the same orbit as a planet orbit usually go at the same speed. Therefore, they will never meet. For this to happen, either the Earth would have to move more slowly, or the asteroid must increase its speed. This does not happen in outer space unless there is an external force doing this. Meanwhile, the laws of motion are governed by inertia.
Types of asteroids
These asteroids come from the formation of the Solar System. As we have seen in some articles, the Solar System formed around 4.600 billion years ago. This occurred when a large cloud of gas and dust collapsed. As this happened, most of the material fell to the center of the cloud, forming the Sun.
The rest of the material became planets. However, the objects that are in the asteroid belt did not have a chance to become a planet. Since asteroids form in different places and conditions, they are not the same. Each has formed at a different distance from the Sun. This makes the conditions and composition different as well.
We come across objects that are not round, rather they have jagged and irregular shapes. These are formed by the continuous blows with other objects until they have been that way.
Others are hundreds of kilometers in diameter and huge. They are smaller, like a pebble. The vast majority of them are made from different types of rocks. Many of them have a good amount of nickel and iron.
What information is extracted?
These rocky objects can provide us with some information about the knowledge of the universe. Since they formed at the same time as the rest of the Solar System, these space rocks can give us information about the history of the planets and the Sun. Scientists can examine these asteroids to get information about it.
There have been several NASA space missions where asteroids have been observed. In the flight that the NEED Shoemaker spacecraft made towards Eros (the name that has been given to an asteroid) it landed on it in order to obtain certain data on the composition and formation of the rocky object. There have been other exploration space missions such as the Dawn spacecraft to visit the asteroid belt in which Vesta was analyzed, an asteroid as big as a small planet, and the OSIRIS-REX spacecraft that has served to visit a nearby asteroid. to Earth called Bennu and bring a sample to our planet.
Differences with meteorites
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, surely you have ever mistaken a meteorite for an asteroid. And it is that asteroids are classified according to the position in which they are in the Solar System. For example, we have already said those that are in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. There are others that are called NEAs because they are closer to Earth. We also find the Trojans, which are those that are around the orbit of Jupiter.
On the other hand, we have the Centaurs. These are those that are in the outer part of the Solar System, close to the Oort Cloud. Finally, we are left with the asteroids that coorbit the Earth. This is, that are "captured" by Earth's gravity and orbit for long periods of time. They can also walk away again.
So far I hope all is well. Now it's time to know what a meteorite is. A meteorite is nothing more than an asteroid that does hit Earth. This name is given because, when it enters the atmosphere, it leaves a trail of light called a meteor. These are the dangerous ones for humans. However, our atmosphere protects us from them, since when they come into contact with it, they end up melting.
Depending on the composition they have, they can be stony, metallic or both. The meteorite impact can also be positive, since a lot of information can be obtained about it. It is possible that it can cause damage if it is large enough that the atmosphere does not completely destroy it when they come into contact. This today can be predicted knowing its trajectory.
