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Menu Home Sun Moon Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Spacecraft Small Bodies Asteroids Comets Meteors News Asteroids On the first day of January 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi discovered an object which he first thought was a new comet. But after its orbit was better determined it was clear t

    A small object (upper right) can cause major havoc. An ocean impact could cause enormous, destructive tsunamis. Courtesy NASA     Asteroidal assassins People have been worrying about cosmic collisions for a long time, but the field only gained scientific legitimacy in the 1980s when the extinct

  Universe TodaySpace and astronomy news Login Login Home Members Guide to Space Carnival Photos Videos Forum Contact Privacy Artist view of an asteroid (with companion) passing near Earth. Credit: P. Carril / ESA Astronomy, Guide to Space What is the Difference Between Asteroids and Comets? Article Updated: 23 D

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Asteroids are minor planet s, especially those of the inner Solar System . The larger ones have also been called planetoids. These terms have historically been applied to any astronomical object orbiting the Sun that did not show the disc of a planet and was not observed to have the characteristics of an active comet .