Difference between Asteroid and Meteor

In our solar system, the sun's gravity is so strong that nearly everything is settled into similar orbits; we call this the orbital plane. Most maps of the solar system just show the planets, but there are a lot of objects flying around such as asteroids, meteors, and comets. People think asteroids and meteors are the same. But they are different from each other.

Asteroid

The asteroid is a small, rocky object that orbits the sun, just like the rest of the planets and celestials' bodies in our solar system. Asteroids are founds in the regions of our solar system. However, they are present in the whole solar system. Many of the asteroids are live in the asteroid belt. The Astrid belt is an area present between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroids are of wide range, and their size starts from smaller than dust to almost 1000 kilometres wide.

The giant asteroid present in the asteroid belt is 940 kilometres wide. Although the asteroid belt hosts a multitude of asteroids, it is not the only region where these rocky objects hang around; some asteroids are also found in the orbits of planets, which means that the planet and the asteroids circle the sun on the same elliptical path.

How did these asteroids come into existence?

At the time of the solar system's formation, large clouds of gas and dust collapsed. Following this event, many of the substances drop to the centre of the clouds, which resulted in the establishment of the sun. Sun is the central star of our solar system. The planets were established from some of the compressing ducts in that clouds. The substances have a chance to include into the planets. Asteroids vary greatly in terms of their shape and size. An asteroid can be as large as ceres or nearly a thousand kilometres wide.

Asteroids are also created or pitted, and their surface is covered in dust. Asteroids orbit the sun in elliptical orbits. Additionally, they also rotate and sometimes tumble haphazardly through space. They may even have their own moons. We know of more than 150 asteroids that have a small companion moon, and some have more than one. Asteroids are founds in three main regions of our solar system. A significant amount of asteroids are present in the asteroid belt, and the asteroids belt is the area which is in between Mars and Jupiter.

There are also Trojan asteroids. The Trojan asteroids are a big class of asteroids that distribute the orbit of planets around the sun. Jupiter Trojan is the most well-known and numerous Trojans. It is believed that nearly 10,000 of all known asteroids are NEAs. NEA means near-earth asteroids. Asteroids are known to be composed of clay and rocks, as well as metals like nickel and iron as some asteroids are very close to the earth in comparison to their celestial bodies.

Is it possible for them to slam into our planet?

Absolutely ever since earth came into being, it has been struck relentlessly by asteroids and comets. In fact, the extinction of dinosaurs is related to an asteroid that slammed into the earth, causing widespread destruction, obliterating most life forms in the global aftermath. However, some larger asteroids do make it through the atmosphere and impact the surface of our planet. Over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk In 2013, an asteroid banged into the atmosphere. The shock wave created by this event injured 1200 people. An asteroid capable of causing a global apocalypse would have to be more than 400 meters wide. The impact of such an asteroid would cause massive destruction of both life and property on a global scale.

Meteor

Meteor is founded in the earth's atmosphere. If a small asteroid or a large meteorite comes with continues burning on the earth's environment and on the land of the earth's surface, this is known as the meteor. Meteors shower don't come from an asteroid. They come from the comet.

The asteroid and meteorite are the rocks of space. They motivate or establishes the surprise and horror in the human beings which are live on the earth. They have different names according to their location. For example, whether they have hurtling through space or through the atmosphere and impacting the earth's surface, they burn up and produces a lighting tail. A big misconception about the meteoroid is that they get hot due to friction with the air. But it is not true it heats up due to gas. Knowing a bit more about asteroids and meteorites may eliminate the same potential misgivings that all of these rocks originate from space.

Difference between Asteroid and Meteor