1. Asteroids
Lab 10

2. Asteroid Belt
Most asteroids are believed to be remnants of the protoplanetary disc which were not incorporated into planets during the solar system's formation
Some asteroids have moons
Vast majority of the asteroids are within the asteroid belt, with elliptical orbits between those of Mars and Jupiter, about 2.8 AU from Sun
Asteroids are rocky, metallic objects that orbit the Sun, too small to be considered planets.
Asteroids range in size from about 1000 km down to the size of pebbles

4. If total mass of all asteroids was gathered into a single object, the object would be less than 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) across -- less than half the diameter of our Moon
Asteroids that are on a collision course with Earth are called meteoroids

5. DOOMSDAY ASTEROID First spotted June 19, 2004 in AZ
Seen again at Xmas in Australia
Is 1000 ft wide
Probability of it hitting earth rose from 1:170 to 1:38
Impact would come on Friday the 13th in April 2029

6. Asteroid 2004 MN4
After recalculations, belief is Asteroid 2004 MN4 will miss Earth by 15,000-25,000 miles – which is one-tenth the distance to the moon
Asteroid 2004 MN4 is a "regional" hazard -- big enough to flatten Texas or a couple of European countries with an impact equivalent to 10,000 megatons of dynamite -- more than all the nuclear weapons in the world

7. Really, really bad asteroid!
In 2029, the close encounter with Earth will increase the size of the orbit, and the object could get into a resonance with the Earth
Could get orbit matchups every five years or nine years, or something in between
In fact, 2004 MN4 could come close again in 2034, 2035, 2036, 2037, 2038 or later
Read all about it at