But don't worry, NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office is keeping a watchful eye on near-Earth objects (NEOs), including asteroids, to assess the impact hazard and aid the U.S. Though a majority of asteroids lurk in the asteroid belt, NASA says, the massive gravitational influence of Jupiter, the solar system's largest planet, can send them hurtling through in random directions, including through the inner solar system and thus towards Earth. Most asteroid surfaces are pitted with impact craters from collisions with other space rocks. Ceres is the largest object in the main asteroid belt while Vesta is the second largest.Īs well as coming in a range of sizes, asteroids come in a variety of shapes from near spheres to irregular double-lobed peanut-shaped asteroids like Itokawa. Vesta recently snatched the "largest asteroid title" from Ceres, which NASA now classifies as a dwarf planet. Asteroids are also often referred to as "minor planets" and can range in size from the largest known example, Vesta, which has a diameter of around 326 miles (525 kilometers), to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across.
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