Which statements describe the characteristics of asteroids? Check all that apply.
formed 4.6 billion years ago
orbit the Sun beyond Jupiter
range in size from a few feet to more than 300 miles across
have a total mass greater than the mass of the moon
most are found in the asteroid belt
Answers
Answer:
formed 4.6 billion years ago
orbit the Sun
range in size from a few feet to more than 500 miles across
most are found in the asteroid belt
Explanation:
Asteroids are rocky worlds revolving around the sun that are too small to be called planets. They are also known as planetoids or minor planets. There are millions of asteroids, ranging in size from hundreds of miles to several feet across. In total, the mass of all the asteroids is less than that of Earth's moon.
Asteroids are leftovers from the formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Early on, the birth of Jupiter prevented any planetary bodies from forming in the gap between Mars and Jupiter, causing the small objects that were there to collide with each other and fragment into the asteroids seen today.
Asteroids can reach as large as Ceres, which is 940 kilometers (about 583 miles) across. On the other end of the scale, the smallest asteroid ever studied is the 6-foot-wide (2 meters) space rock 2015 TC25, which was observed when it made a close flyby of Earth in October 2015.