tell me everything you know about asteroids!!!!!!!?
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INTRODUCTION\n\nAsteroid, one of the many small or minor rocky planetoids that are members of the solar system and that move in elliptical orbits primarily between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.\n\nSIZES AND ORBITS\n\nThe largest object in the asteroid belt is 1 Ceres, with a diameter of about 950 km (about 590 mi). Ceres was long considered to be an asteroid but in 2006 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified Ceres as a dwarf planet because it has been shaped into a spheroid by its own gravity. (To qualify as a true planet Ceres would need to have cleared the neighborhood of its orbit (the asteroid belt) of other bodies.) The IAU still lists 1 Ceres as a minor planet along with asteroids. The next largest objects in the asteroid belt are 2 Pallas and 4 Vesta, with diameters of about 530 km (about 329 mi). \n\nThe naming of asteroids and other solar system bodies is governed by the IAU. After an astronomer observes a possible unknown asteroid, other astronomers confirm the discovery by observing the body over a period of several orbits and comparing the asteroid’s position and orbit to those of known asteroids. If the asteroid is indeed a newly discovered object, the IAU gives it a number according to its order of discovery, and the astronomer who discovered it chooses a name. Asteroids are usually referred to by both number and name.\n\nAbout 200 asteroids have diameters of more than 97 km (60 mi), and thousands of smaller ones exist. The total mass of all asteroids in the solar system is much less than the mass of the Moon. The larger bodies are roughly spherical, but elongated and irregular shapes are common for those with diameters of less than 160 km (100 mi). Most asteroids, regardless of size, rotate on their axes every 5 to 20 hours. Certain asteroids may be binary, or have satellites of their own.\n\nFew scientists now believe that asteroids are the remnants of a former planet. It is more likely that asteroids occupy a place in the solar system where a sizable planet could have formed but was prevented from doing so by the disruptive gravitational influences of the nearby giant planet Jupiter. Originally perhaps only a few dozen asteroids existed, which were subsequently fragmented by mutual collisions to produce the population now present. Scientists believe that asteroids move out of the asteroid belt because heat from the Sun warms them unevenly. This causes the asteroids to drift slowly away from their original orbits. \n\nThe so-called Trojan asteroids lie in two clouds, one moving 60° ahead of Jupiter in its orbit and the other 60° behind. Astronomers have recently found another group of Trojan asteroids that share Neptune’s orbit, possibly representing a population several times larger than the Jupiter Trojans. In 1977 the asteroid 2060 Chiron was discovered in an orbit between that of Saturn and Uranus. Asteroids that intersect the orbit of Mars are called Amors; asteroids that intersect the orbit of Earth are known as Apollos; and asteroids that have orbits smaller than Earth’s orbit are called Atens. One of the largest inner asteroids is 433 Eros, an elongated body measuring 13 by 33 km (8 by 21 mi). The peculiar Apollo asteroid 3200 Phaethon, about 5 km (about 3 mi) wide, approaches the Sun more closely, at 20.9 million km (13.9 million mi), than any other known asteroid. It is also associated with the yearly return of the Geminid stream of meteors (see Geminids).\n\nSeveral Earth-approaching asteroids are relatively easy targets for space missions. In 1991 the United States Galileo space probe, on its way to Jupiter, took the first close-up pictures of an asteroid. The images showed that the small, lopsided body, 951 Gaspra, is pockmarked with craters, and revealed evidence of a blanket of loose, fragmental material, or regolith, covering the asteroid’s surface. Galileo also visited an asteroid named 243 Ida and found that Ida has its own moon, a smaller asteroid subsequently nam
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Don't forget the tenth planet "Xena"\n\nSome info on the planets:\n\nhttp://beaker.atspace.org/spaceglossplanets.htm
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Actually, asteroids hit the earth daily.  They are just so small that they burn up in the earth's atmosphere so we don't notice them.  \n\nIf you'd like to keep up to date on the bigger ones, you might want to check here: http://impact.arc.nasa.gov/index.cfm\n(it doesn't speak about anything hitting the earth in a month or so, but you can read more there)\n\n\nAdded:\nHere's another site that shows close approaches of larger objects: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/ca/\n\nAs well as different impact risks for known objects:  http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/
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The moon and all planetary bodies, satellites, stars, space debris rotate.\n\nHere are links that may give you more info.\n\nThe first two are about moons, the third one about Saturn's moon Hyperion, which has a scre.w.ed up rotation
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The asteroid you are referring to is actually called "Apophis" which is the greek name for an Egyptian god, also known as the "Destroyer". Apophis is also called 2004 MN4. It is projected to come very close to the earth on April 13, 2029. So far, astronomers have calculated that it will miss the earth by a safe margin, however the gravitational pull of the earth could alter the orbit, putting the asteroid on a much more dangerous course in coming years. Currently, there are talks about launching a device to better monitor it's travels.
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it wont be here.....2036 theres an asteroid set to collide with earth the size of Texas...heard it on APNews
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Try this:\nhttp://www.braeunig.us/space/
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If you're talking about asteroid Apophis, you're a bit early. It's not due until 2036. The current impact risk is put at 1 chance in 6,250 (99.98% probability of a miss)\n\nCheck this website for up-to-date impact risks for known near-Earth-objects (NEO's) -->http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/
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There is actually a website about that, that shows you how close they come, i don't remember it off-hand though.  it's pretty neat though, you can like fast forward in time, and reverse.\n\nEven if an Asteroid was going to hit the earth, whomever spotted it wouldn't tell anyone, would cause too much commotion.\n\nHere is a pretty cool site I just found about it, it says 1 in 40 chance in 2029 \nhttp://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/asteroid_update_041227.html
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Here is a site where you can find all the needed data.\nhttp://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/nineplanets.html
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They don't have to. Yes, there are thousands of asteroids, but space is really, really big! The asteroids are so far apart that you could just randomly fly any path through the belt and never see one. They actually have to carefully plot a course to rendezvous with one if that is the goal of the mission, like NEAR or Hayabusa.
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Here are some quick facts:\n\nhttp://www.sir-ray.com/ Enter the site, click astronomy then click on Space Dimensions & Planetary Facts (this site is excellent)\nhttp://www.dustbunny.com/afk/planets/\nhttp://www.kidzone.ws/planets/index.htm\nhttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/planetfact.html\n\nThese sites should be everything that you need~the first site should do it but the other three have little bits of information that might be useful~
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Most asteroids are made of rock and metal, not ice.  Comets, on the other hand usually do contain “dirty ice.”\nIndeed comets are being “freeze dried” in space, but it is when they approach the sun that the ice begins to melt forming the coma and tail of the comet.\nThe reason that comets do not completely “freeze dry” in space is due to their size.  Freeze drying only occurs on the outside of the comet, not on the inside.\nSee the site below for more details:
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Try the site below for information and the second link for a catalog of current orbits.  It's pretty technical but it should be fun deciphering.
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Check at a site called neo (near earth objects)!!
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As a scientific mind and an individual who is curious, I would like to know. Then I could find a location to watch the impact with my family so I would know such a rare occurance and then die happily. Of course, an asteroid cannot destroy a planet unless it is planet-sized, and there are none left; an asteroid can only cause massive extinction events like the K-T impactor (aka "The Dinosaur Killer"), and probably cripple the human race. Watch "Deep Impact"; it's the most accurate movie made about such a thing thus far.
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I depends on the type of asteroid, a solid one we can deflect, but if it is an aglommerate of space debris, it will be like trying to avoid a shot gun blast.