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Asteroid

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 269 Accesses

Synonyms

Minor planet; Planetoid; Small solar system body

Definition

An asteroid is an irregularly shaped, rocky body orbiting the Sun. In contrast to planets and dwarf planets, asteroids do not have sufficient mass for their self-gravity to form a spheroid. In contrast to comets, asteroids display neither a coma nor a tail.

Overview

Asteroids and comets are considered to be remnant bodies from the epoch of planet formation. Planet embryos formed in the protoplanetary disk about 4.5 billion years ago via the accretion of dust grains and collisions with smaller bodies (planetesimals). A number of planet embryos succeeded in developing into the planets we observe today; the growth of other planet embryos and planetesimals was terminated by catastrophic collisions or a lack of material in their orbital zones to accrete. Most asteroids are thought to be the fragments of bodies that formed in the inner Solar System and were subsequently broken up in collisions. Comets and related icy bodies...

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Bibliography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Rutherfordstr 2, Berlin, 12489, Germany

    Dr. Alan W. Harris

Authors
  1. Dr. Alan W. Harris
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alan W. Harris .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Harris, A.W. (2013). Asteroid. In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_6

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