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Artist's depiction of the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Credit: David Minton and Renu Malhotra
Asteroids have been fascinating scientists for hundreds of years. The first asteroid to be discovered was Ceres, in 1801. Since then literally tens of thousands of asteroids have been observed flying willy-nilly across our solar System.
In 2004 the near Earth asteroids really came into the public eye because the asteroid Apophis was thought to potentially impact the Earth. That is not really a news-worthy event in itself because several tiny asteroids impact the Earth’s atmosphere each year. What made Apophis stand out was its size. At 270 meters, scientists estimate that the asteroid could have destroyed up to 25% of the life on our planet.
In addition to scaring the average Joe, asteroids offer many scientific benefits. Much of what we know about space has been garnered from studying the metal and other content of asteroids that have impacted the Earth’s surface. Scientists have even managed to revive a bacteria form from a meteorite that is thought to have originated from Mars.
There are some scientists and industrialists that point a future where all of the metals and ores on this planet will be exhausted. They look towards the heavens and envision a time when there will be miners on the largest asteroids extracting the minerals, metals, and perhaps the water that the civilizations on Earth will desperately need to continue their existence.
Below is a very long list of links to articles about asteroids in general, asteroid related events in history, and some specific asteroids. Many hours of research are waiting for you. Enjoy!
- Largest Crater in the Solar System
- Largest Asteroid in the Solar System
- Asteroid Ceres
- Asteroid Vesta
- Asteroid Pallas
- Asteroid Apophis
- Asteroid Eros
- Asteroid Juno
- Arizona Crater
- Asteroid Mining
- What are the Differences Between Asteroids and Meteors?
- Asteroid Belt
- Asteroid Strike
- Asteroid Toutatis
- What is the Difference Between Asteroids and Comets
- Asteroid Size
- Asteroid Tracking
- Asteroid Collision
- Asteroid Craters
- Asteroid Field
- Asteroid Ida
- Asteroid Impact
- Interesting Facts About Asteroids
- Asteroid Hitting Earth
- Barringer Crater
- Yucatan Crater
- Wolf Creek Crater
- What if an Asteroid Hit Earth?
- Asteroid Theory
- Minor Planets
- Biggest Crater
- Chicxulub Crater
- Craters on Earth
- Near Earth Asteroids
- Tunguska Asteroid
- Vredefort Crater
- 2029 Asteroid
- Ejecta
- Impact Crater
- Earth Impact
- Asteroid Near Miss
- What is an Asteroid?
- Near-Earth Object
- 2036 Asteroid
- 1908 Siberia
- Torino Scale
- Mining Asteroids
- First Asteroid Discovered
- Asteroid Deflection
- Asteroid Threat
- Manicouagan Crater
- Trojan Asteroids
- Earth Asteroid Tracking
- Killer Asteroid
- Asteroid 2002 NT7
- Asteroids With Moons
- Asteroid Orbits
- What is the Difference Between Asteroids and Meteorites?
- Chesapeake Bay Crater
- Closest Asteroid
- Asteroid That Killed the Dinosaurs
- Asteroid Extinction Theory
- Asteroid 2004 MN4
- Asteroid 2003 QQ47
- Asteroid Cruithne
- Bolide
- Spaceguard
- Asteroid Hitting Jupiter
- Asteroid Davida
- Asteroid Dactyl
- What are Asteroids Made Of?
- Apophis 2036
- Apophis 2029
- Tunguska Event
- April 13, 2029
- Where Do Asteroids Come From?
- Near Earth Asteroid Tracking
- Asteroid in Canada
- Asteroid Impact Calculator
- K-T Boundary
- Ceres
- Craters
- Dionysius
- Atropos
- Asteroid Calliope
- NEOs
- KT Extinction
- Asteroid Earth
- Comets and Asteroids Pictures
- Prometheus
- Asteroid Image Collection
- Asteroid Pictures
- Asteroid Wallpaper
- Has the Earth Ever Been Hit by an Asteroid
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