Celestial Bodies

Apart from there are many other celestial bodies that call our home. that other planets, , , Meteors, and other small things that orbit the , are all collected together by the that holds our solar system together. The Belt, the , and the are all composed of remnants from the formation of the solar system.

Moons Asteroids and Comets

There are over two hundred moons in our Currently there are 958,663 known asteroids solar system, orbiting planets and asteroids and 3,645 known comets that orbit the Sun. in the same way planets and asteroids orbit When the solar system formed, a swirling the Sun. ’s is the best studied cloud of and gas circled the Sun and as body and the most readily visible to us with the particles collided they formed rocks. the . Its presence helps stabilize Eventually some grew large enough to Earth in its orbit, which provides us with a create planets, but many remained as relatively stable climate and creates the relatively small bodies we today call comets tides. Some planets like and and asteroids. Even smaller objects called have many moons, some of which have their , some broken off of comets and own atmospheres and are as large as some asteroids, often enter Earth’s atmosphere and of the smaller planets. burn up from the increased friction. We see these as shooting and meteor showers. Only when they reach Earth’s surface are they called .

Image Courtesy of NASA Halley’s is perhaps the most famous comet and Image Courtesy of NASA passes by Earth every 76 years. It was not until 1705 that Earth’s moon rotates at the same rate it revolves around Edmond Halley computed the of several Earth, so the same side is always facing us. The distinctive comets and realized that they were not just single events. craters and mountains has led some to say they can see a face on the moon! Kuiper Belt

Image Courtesy of NASA Image Courtesy of NASA The Kuiper Belt is a large structure in our The Asteroid Belt lies mainly between the solar system that begins on the edge of orbits of and Jupiter, with some ’s orbit. The belt, really shaped like outlying asteroids known as the Trojans a large donut, is composed of hundreds of which share an orbit with another . thousands of icy objects sixty miles or more The most numerous Trojans share Jupiter’s in width. Remnants of the formation of our orbit, but Mars and Neptune also have solar system, some of these objects collide Trojans. In 2011 it was discovered that there with each other breaking up to form is an Earth as well. There are some smaller objects, dust, and even comets. asteroids that orbit the sun in other paths, some of which take them near to Earth.