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Encyclopedia > Asteroids IV

ASTEROIDS OF THE MAIN BELT



Credit : NASA/JPL
Image of the asteroid Gaspra made ​​by the Galileo spacecraft.

Most of the asteroids have this irregular appearance, with the exception of the largest that have a spherical shape. The asteroids in the main belt are, for now, the most numerous. 

These are not the remaining of a planet: they were unable to agglomerate to form one object and their total mass is much lower than that of a planet: it reaches the twentieth of the mass of the Moon.

 Below is the characteristics of some asteroids chosen among the largest and also those whose images are shown during our tour of the solar system (click the link).  

Number 
 
Name 
 
Size  
en km
 
Semi-major axis 
en UA
 
 Eccentricity 
 
Inclination 
 
Period  
in days
 
Chemical 
class
 
1 Ceres 940 2.7678 0.0774 11° 1682  C
2 Pallas 538 2.7739 0.2323 35° 1687  C
3 Juno 244 2.6695 0.2577 13° 1593  S
4 Vesta 576 2.3607 0.0903 1324  ? 
5 Astrea 125 2.5759 0.1915 1510  S
6 Hebe 192 2.4248 0.2018 15° 1379  S
7 Iris 203 2.3849 0.2306 1345  S
8 Flore 141 2.2013 0.1561 1192  S
9 Metis 168 2.3864 0.1211 1347  S
10 Hygiea 429 3.1362 0.1199 2029  C
45 Eugenia 130 2.7204 0.0830 1663  C
146 Lucina 140 2.7190 0.0660 13° 1661  C
216 Kleopatra 217x97 2.7917 0.2534 13° 1702  M
243 Ida 56x24 2.8619 0.0450 1768  S
253 Mathilde 59x47 2.6473 0.2654 1596  ? 
324 Bamberga 242 2.6855 0.3374 11° 1607  C
377 Campania 60 2.6914 0.0778 1636  ? 
951 Gaspra 20x12 2.2092 0.1737 1199  ? 
3939 Huruhata 20 3.1214 0.0938 25° 2043  ? 
 
40747 1999 TK5  7 2.5540 0.2117 12° 1513  ? 

To know the circumstances of the discovery of asteroids, click here.