Question

Obtain information about the various asteroids and dwarf planets in the solar system and discuss it in the class.

Answer 1

Asteroids

• Asteroids are small rocky bodies of the solar system that could not become planets.
• Most asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• They have irregular shapes and no proper atmosphere.
• Examples: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, Hygiea, Juno and Eros.
• Ceres is the largest asteroid and is also a dwarf planet.
• Some asteroids have very small moons, and meteors are rocky pieces from asteroids that burn in Earth's atmosphere.

Dwarf planets

• A dwarf planet is a celestial body that revolves around the Sun and is large enough to become almost round.
• It is not a full planet because it has not cleared other bodies from its orbit.
• Examples: Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake.
• Pluto lies beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt and takes about 248 years to revolve around the Sun. Its one rotation takes about 6.38 days.
• Ceres lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• Eris, Haumea and Makemake are icy dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt.

Class discussion points

• Asteroids and dwarf planets are smaller than planets but larger than meteors.
• Asteroids are mostly rocky or metallic; dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt are mostly icy.
• They help us understand how the solar system formed.