Asteroids

Asteroids

There are tons of exciting stuff happening within the stars above us that make astronomy such a lot of fun. the reality is that the universe may be a constantly changing, moving, some would say “living” thing because you only never know what you're getting to see on any given night of stargazing.

But of the various celestial phenomenons, there's probably none as exciting as that point you see your first asteroid on the move within the heavens. To call asteroids the “rock stars” of astronomy is simultaneously a nasty joke but an accurate depiction of how astronomy fans view them. Unlike suns, planets, and moons, asteroids are on the move, ever-changing and, if they seem within the night sky, exciting and dynamic.

Like rock stars, asteroids are given their justifiable share of urban myth and lore. Many have attributed the extinction of the dinosaurs to the impact of an enormous asteroid on the world. This theory has some credibility and, if it's true, it evokes some pretty startling images and foreboding fears within the current reining species on earth, humanity.

The fact that asteroids are fast-paced space debris only makes their movement and activity more interesting and exciting. there are many documented cases of small asteroids making it through our atmosphere and leaving some pretty impressive craters within the earth’s surface.

the foremost talked about the concept that has captured the imagination and therefore, the fears of fantasy fans and the general public is of another asteroid hitting the world that would wipe out life as allegedly happened to the dinosaurs. The movie “Armageddon” was supported this concept and therefore the concept that somehow mankind could avert that catastrophe with technology.

But probably the simplest thanks to calm our fears and replace fantasy with science is with understanding and knowledge. the reality is, there have been tons of study of asteroid activity and therefore the serious scientific community has gained significant knowledge of those amazing celestial bodies. variety of probes to asteroids are conducted which have given us a wealth of data about their composition and the way we'd predict their behavior. 

We now know that the bulk of asteroids we get to witness come from a belt that exists between Mars and Jupiter. it's from this community of asteroids that a lot of the notable asteroids emerged.  classes C, D, and V which are classified by composition and a category called “Centaurs” whose flight patterns take them closer to Jupiter and Uranus.

Some of the probes NASA has conducted on near flying asteroids have performed some pretty amazing studies of those eccentric celestial bodies. In 1994 the Galileo probe got within 1000 miles of the asteroid Ida and discovered that Ida had its moon. 

Other probes have fired impactors into asteroids and even landed on an asteroid to supply some amazing scientific data for us. there's much to find out about asteroids in our love of astronomy which knowledge only makes our enjoyment of seeing them within the cosmos even more exciting.