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The Solar System: The Asteroid Belt

   

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is the main Asteroid Belt.

Occasionally people wonder whether the belt was made up of the remains of a destroyed planet, or a world that didn't quite get started. However, according to NASA, the total mass of the belt is less than the mas of our moon, far too small to weigh-in as a planet.

The asteroids are made of rock and metal and are all irregularly shaped. The size of the objects within the asteroid belt range from being as small as a dust particle to almost 1000km wide.

The four largest asteroids are: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea - see below.

 

The Solar System page 12

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