CAJ - meet some of the asteroids

Hi,

Since this is one of my last blog posts, it will be dedicated to the leading actors of my CAJ – the asteroids themselves.

Gaspra

is located in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. From its irregular shape and its big craters it is suggested that Gaspra is between 300 and 500 million years old. Given the fact that the Universe is at least 13 to 16 billion years old, it is a rather young asteroid. Gaspra is about 17 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. Every seven hours it revolves around itself completely.

Eros

is with about 33 kilometres one of the largest asteroids that is drifting dangerously close to Earth. It is an S-type asteroid which means that it contains nickel, iron and magnesium. Here is the blog post that informs you about the classification of asteroids. Eros, which was named after the Greek god of love and desire orbits the Sun.

Wild 2

is in fact a comet but has an asteroid-like composition. In 2006 the NASA stardust mission came back to Earth and brought samples of Wild 2 with them. This was the time scientists managed to bring a specimen of an asteroid back to Earth. Grains of Wild 2 were collected and the material was analysed. Because of its ejection of dust and gas, it is believed that Wild 2 is the second most active planetary surface in our solar system. The most active is the Sun.

Ceres

is with a diameter of about 950 kilometres (about the size of Texas) a very big asteroid and a dwarf planet at the same time. Moreover, it is the closest dwarf planet to Earth. Ceres is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and makes up nearly one third of its mass. In 2013 scientists could prove that there is water on Ceres which may erupt from its surface. Here you can read the full story.

Next year a specimen of this asteroid will arrive on Earth which should prove if there is also an ocean. Scientists think that this dwarf planet could contain more fresh water than Earth does. Isn’t this amazing? Because of its closeness and its mineral resources, Eros could be a suitable asteroid in terms of mining.