Asteroid

Basic Information

An asteroid is a small rocky body that orbits our Sun. They are larger than meteoroids (so, larger than 10 meters in diameter), but smaller than planets. An asteroid large enough to be formed into an elliptical or rounded shape by its own gravity is known as a Dwarf Planet.

Specific Groups

These are classes and groups of Asteroids from various regions of the Solar System.

• Amor asteroid
• Apollo asteroid
• Apohele asteroid
• Arjuna asteroid
• Asteroid Belt
• Aten asteroid
• Binary asteroid
• Maria asteroid
• Near Earth asteroid - see also Near Earth object
• Trojan asteroid

Specific Asteroids

• 21 Lutetia
• 3753 Cruithne
• Vesta
• 99942 Apophis

See Also:

• Asteroid Impact
• Comet

Sources

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia

Game and Story Use

• Asteroid Mining could be a way for PCs to make some cash in a Science Fiction setting. It'd be a dangerous, lonely job, but one that pays really well and offers plenty of excitement.
  • Asteroids are a likely source of material for any civilization building a Stellar Megastructure.
• A Bubbleworld is a possible hollow world space colony made by inflating (essentially) an asteroid. It'd be a relatively cheap way to homestead - in space!
• Asteroid Thickets aren't terribly likely or realistic (as over time they'd either accrete into a planet, or pulverize each other into dust), but they certainly are a staple of Science Fiction. Chances are your players will totally accept the notion of thick fields of asteroids smacking in to each other chaotically and being the ultimate interstellar terrain navigational hazard - science be damned!
• Asteroid Impacts are an exciting natural disaster to shake up your setting or complicate the PCs lives. Sufficiently large one can lead to the end of the world.