How Do We Know What Asteroids Are Made Of?

There are many ways to tell what asteroids are made of. One way is to send a spacecraft there, for example NASA's NEAR spacecraft that orbited Eros for a year. While in orbit, the spacecraft used an infrared camera and spectrometer and an x-ray/gamma ray spectrometer to look at the composition of the asteroid

What Are The Asteroids Made Of

The C-type (chondrite) asteroids are most common. They probably consist of clay and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. ... The S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron. The M-types are metallic (nickel-iron)

Where Are Most Asteroids Found?

What Is The Earth Moon Sun System

Our solar system includes the Sun, nine planets and their Moons, comets and asteroids. ... As the Earth orbits the Sun, the Moon orbits the Earth. The Moon's orbit lasts 27 1/2 days, but because the Earth keeps moving, it takes the Moon two extra days, 29 1/2, to come back to the same place in our sky

Why Do Saturn And Uranus Have Rings

Rings. Saturn's rings are thought to be pieces of comets, asteroids, or shattered moons that broke up before they reached the planet, torn apart by Saturn's powerful gravity. They are made of billions of small chunks of ice and rock coated with other materials such as dust

Where Are Most Comets And Meteoroids Found?

Eros, an Asteroid. Meteoroids are lumps of rock or iron that orbit the sun, just as planets, asteroids, and comets do. Meteoroids are found throughout the solar system, from the rocky inner planets to the remote reaches of the Kuiper belt