Asteroid
noun
A small rocky body orbiting the sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Thousands of asteroids are found in the asteroid belt.
Often appears as...
- asteroid belt
- small asteroid
Usage tips
Academic
noun
In Greek mythology, Asteroid was a name given to the five daughters of Atlas, turned by Zeus into stars.
According to myth, Asteroid was a daughter of Atlas turned into a star.
Usage tips
Literary
adjective
Resembling a star in shape.
The interstellar object had an asteroid appearance.
Often appears as...
- asteroid appearance
- asteroid shape
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A small rocky body orbiting the sun, mostly found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Thousands of asteroids are found in the asteroid belt.
Often appears as...
- asteroid belt
- small asteroid
Usage tips
Academic
noun
In Greek mythology, Asteroid was a name given to the five daughters of Atlas, turned by Zeus into stars.
According to myth, Asteroid was a daughter of Atlas turned into a star.
Usage tips
Literary
adjective
Resembling a star in shape.
The interstellar object had an asteroid appearance.
Often appears as...
- asteroid appearance
- asteroid shape
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Not Comets
Asteroids are usually confused with comets; asteroids are rocky, while comets are icy and develop tails.
The object didn’t have a tail, so it was an asteroid, not a comet.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Belt
Although common in the asteroid belt, asteroids can be found throughout the solar system, even near Earth.
NASA tracks near-Earth asteroids for potential impact risks.
Pro Tip 3/3Size Variation
Asteroids can range in size from pebbles to nearly 1,000 km wide; size doesn’t change their classification.
Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest asteroid in the belt.
Pro Tip 1/3Not Comets
Asteroids are usually confused with comets; asteroids are rocky, while comets are icy and develop tails.
The object didn’t have a tail, so it was an asteroid, not a comet.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Belt
Although common in the asteroid belt, asteroids can be found throughout the solar system, even near Earth.
NASA tracks near-Earth asteroids for potential impact risks.
Pro Tip 3/3Size Variation
Asteroids can range in size from pebbles to nearly 1,000 km wide; size doesn’t change their classification.
Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest asteroid in the belt.
Pro Tip 1/3Not Comets
Asteroids are usually confused with comets; asteroids are rocky, while comets are icy and develop tails.
The object didn’t have a tail, so it was an asteroid, not a comet.
Pro Tip 2/3Not Just Belt
Although common in the asteroid belt, asteroids can be found throughout the solar system, even near Earth.
NASA tracks near-Earth asteroids for potential impact risks.
Pro Tip 3/3Size Variation
Asteroids can range in size from pebbles to nearly 1,000 km wide; size doesn’t change their classification.
Dwarf planet Ceres is the largest asteroid in the belt.
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Video examples
The 4 greatest threats...
asteroid impacts, supervolcanoes, and the like. Assessing existential risk is an inherently uncertain business because usually when we try to figure out how likely something is, we check how often it's happened before. But the complete destruction of humanity has never happened before.
Video examples
Phil Plait: How to...
and could hit us a few years from now. It won't, but it gives us a chance to study these kinds of asteroids. We didn't really necessarily understand these keyholes, and now we do, and it turns out that's really important, because how do you stop an asteroid like this? Well, let me ask
Video examples
When will the next mass...
By learning about past extinction events, recognizing what is happening today as environments change, and using this knowledge to lessen our effect on other species, we can transform humanity's impact on the world from something as destructive as a massive asteroid
Video examples
Why is biodiversity so...
but they're actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks, even without cataclysmic events, like volcanoes and asteroids. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change?
Video examples
Where did Earth’s water...
a substantial amount of water early on that was able to stay put, despite the lack of an atmosphere, though asteroids may have brought more over the eons. If this turns out to be true, life may have formed much earlier than previously thought.
Video examples
Understanding asteroids...
and puts us at risk most of the time these exploded too high in altitude to cause any damage to the ground but as you can see asteroid impacts are not rare just two years ago we had a wake-up call an asteroid exploded near the city
Video examples
Why the Dinosaurs’...
out of control hormones or cataracts others blamed a world taken over by hungry caterpillars the answers eluded experts until natal 18 when two scientists working here discovered a clue the link to it being an asteroid
Video examples
Dinosaurs 101 PIPE National...
was already in severe decline by the time the asteroid struck. However, several dinosaur species survived. And some of which evolved to become today's birds. The world has never again seen land creatures
Video examples
Alien Oceans PIPE Explorers...
were probably delivering some of the water that's found on our planet today. One of the key questions about asteroids is did the play any role in the origin of life? Asteroids brought water and carbon,
Video examples
Uncovering Jupiter's...
Jupiter originally flung water into the inner solar system, creating the conditions for life on Earth. So thank you, Jupiter. It also likely altered the orbit of an asteroid that killed the
Video examples
The 4 greatest threats...
asteroid impacts, supervolcanoes, and the like. Assessing existential risk is an inherently uncertain business because usually when we try to figure out how likely something is, we check how often it's happened before. But the complete destruction of humanity has never happened before.
Video examples
Phil Plait: How to...
and could hit us a few years from now. It won't, but it gives us a chance to study these kinds of asteroids. We didn't really necessarily understand these keyholes, and now we do, and it turns out that's really important, because how do you stop an asteroid like this? Well, let me ask
Video examples
When will the next mass...
By learning about past extinction events, recognizing what is happening today as environments change, and using this knowledge to lessen our effect on other species, we can transform humanity's impact on the world from something as destructive as a massive asteroid
Video examples
Why is biodiversity so...
but they're actually vulnerable to collapse. Jungles can become deserts, and reefs can become lifeless rocks, even without cataclysmic events, like volcanoes and asteroids. What makes one ecosystem strong and another weak in the face of change?
Video examples
Where did Earth’s water...
a substantial amount of water early on that was able to stay put, despite the lack of an atmosphere, though asteroids may have brought more over the eons. If this turns out to be true, life may have formed much earlier than previously thought.
Video examples
Understanding asteroids...
and puts us at risk most of the time these exploded too high in altitude to cause any damage to the ground but as you can see asteroid impacts are not rare just two years ago we had a wake-up call an asteroid exploded near the city
Video examples
Why the Dinosaurs’...
out of control hormones or cataracts others blamed a world taken over by hungry caterpillars the answers eluded experts until natal 18 when two scientists working here discovered a clue the link to it being an asteroid
Video examples
Dinosaurs 101 PIPE National...
was already in severe decline by the time the asteroid struck. However, several dinosaur species survived. And some of which evolved to become today's birds. The world has never again seen land creatures
Video examples
Alien Oceans PIPE Explorers...
were probably delivering some of the water that's found on our planet today. One of the key questions about asteroids is did the play any role in the origin of life? Asteroids brought water and carbon,
Video examples
Uncovering Jupiter's...
Jupiter originally flung water into the inner solar system, creating the conditions for life on Earth. So thank you, Jupiter. It also likely altered the orbit of an asteroid that killed the
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Carrie Nugent
American Scientist
It has only been within my lifetime that asteroids have been considered a credible threat to our planet. And since then, there's been a focused effort underway to discover and catalog these objects. I am lucky enough to be part of this effort. I'm part of a team of scientists that use NASA's NEOWISE telescope.
Quote examples
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American Scientist
Some asteroids have us in their sights. Be nice to sort of go near them and find out what they're made of, possibly tag their ears so they're always broadcasting to us their location. In case one of their trajectories head straight for us, we'll know well in advance to do something about it.
Quote examples
Heidi Hammel
American Scientist
Most people have already seen a cosmic collision. If you've seen a shooting star ever, you've seen a cosmic collision, because a shooting star is not a star. It's a tiny dust or pea sized fragment of an asteroid or a comet hitting our atmosphere and burning up as it hits in, as it comes in.
Quote examples
Rusty Schweickart
American Astronaut
I don't want people to spend their nights worrying about getting hit by asteroids. But I do want them to encourage their political leaders to invest in the insurance, which will allow us to prevent it from happening.
Quote examples
Etienne Schneider
Luxembourger Politician
Asteroids are often seen as a threat, but they are also an opportunity. The use of space resources holds a large potential for future technological innovation.
Quote examples
John M. Grunsfeld
American Astronaut
Small bodies in our solar system, like comets and asteroids, help us understand how the solar system formed and provide opportunities to advance exploration.
Quote examples
Brian May
English Musician
I despise the Lottery. There's less chance of you becoming a millionaire than there is of getting hit on the head by a passing asteroid.
Quote examples
Oren Etzioni
American Businessman
It's much more likely that an asteroid will strike the Earth and annihilate life as we know it than AI will turn evil.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid.
Quote examples
Peter Diamandis
American Businessman
Mining asteroids will ultimately benefit humanity on and off the Earth in a multitude of ways.
Quote examples
Carrie Nugent
American Scientist
It has only been within my lifetime that asteroids have been considered a credible threat to our planet. And since then, there's been a focused effort underway to discover and catalog these objects. I am lucky enough to be part of this effort. I'm part of a team of scientists that use NASA's NEOWISE telescope.
Quote examples
Neil deGrasse Tyson
American Scientist
Some asteroids have us in their sights. Be nice to sort of go near them and find out what they're made of, possibly tag their ears so they're always broadcasting to us their location. In case one of their trajectories head straight for us, we'll know well in advance to do something about it.
Quote examples
Heidi Hammel
American Scientist
Most people have already seen a cosmic collision. If you've seen a shooting star ever, you've seen a cosmic collision, because a shooting star is not a star. It's a tiny dust or pea sized fragment of an asteroid or a comet hitting our atmosphere and burning up as it hits in, as it comes in.
Quote examples
Rusty Schweickart
American Astronaut
I don't want people to spend their nights worrying about getting hit by asteroids. But I do want them to encourage their political leaders to invest in the insurance, which will allow us to prevent it from happening.
Quote examples
Etienne Schneider
Luxembourger Politician
Asteroids are often seen as a threat, but they are also an opportunity. The use of space resources holds a large potential for future technological innovation.
Quote examples
John M. Grunsfeld
American Astronaut
Small bodies in our solar system, like comets and asteroids, help us understand how the solar system formed and provide opportunities to advance exploration.
Quote examples
Brian May
English Musician
I despise the Lottery. There's less chance of you becoming a millionaire than there is of getting hit on the head by a passing asteroid.
Quote examples
Oren Etzioni
American Businessman
It's much more likely that an asteroid will strike the Earth and annihilate life as we know it than AI will turn evil.
Quote examples
Mark Twain
American Writer
Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid.
Quote examples
Peter Diamandis
American Businessman
Mining asteroids will ultimately benefit humanity on and off the Earth in a multitude of ways.
Example 1 of 10
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