In Depth | Asteroids – NASA Solar System Exploration
Stray asteroids and asteroid fragments have slammed into Earth and the other planets in the past, playing a major role in altering the geological history of the planets and in the evolution of life on Earth.
The Kuiper Belt should not be confused with the Oort Cloud, which is a thousand times more distant. In 1950, astronomer Jan Oort proposed that certain comets come from a vast, extremely distant …
Scientists predicted the existence of rubble pile asteroids that barely hold together in space. They are thought to be old fragments of asteroids that gently collided with each other to make a larger asteroid …
In Depth | Kuiper Belt – NASA Solar System Exploration
Researchers have found that some near-Earth asteroids are actually burned-out comets, and most of them would have started out in the Kuiper Belt. Many comets crash into the Sun or the planets.
Planet Compare – NASA Solar System Exploration
Oct 21, 2025 · NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
Directory - NASA Solar System Exploration
Oct 21, 2025 · BY DESTINATION Earth (1) Mars (2) Jupiter (95) Saturn (83) Uranus (27) Neptune (14) Pluto (5) Asteroids, Comets & Meteors About Asteroids, Comets & Meteors BY TYPE Meteors & …
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Psyche Raw Image: Imager A - NASA Solar System Exploration
BY DESTINATION Earth (1) Mars (2) Jupiter (95) Saturn (83) Uranus (27) Neptune (14) Pluto (5) Asteroids, Comets & Meteors About Asteroids, Comets & Meteors BY TYPE Meteors & Meteorites …
In Depth | Phobos – NASA Solar System Exploration
Phobos and Deimos appear to be composed of C-type rock, similar to blackish carbonaceous chondrite asteroids. Observations by Mars Global Surveyor indicate that the surface of this small body has …
In Depth | Earth's Moon – NASA Solar System Exploration
With too sparse an atmosphere to impede impacts, a steady rain of asteroids, meteoroids, and comets strikes the surface of the Moon, leaving numerous craters behind.