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.
Asteroids, Comets & Meteors - NASA Solar System Exploration
Our solar system’s small bodies – asteroids, comets, and meteors – pack big surprises. These chunks of rock, ice, and metal are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago.
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.
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 …
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In Depth | 1P/Halley – NASA Solar System Exploration
NASA’s real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and far-ranging robots explore the wild frontiers of our solar system.
In Depth | Moons – NASA Solar System Exploration
Scientists weren't sure if asteroids could hold moons in their orbits until the Galileo spacecraft flew past asteroid Ida in 1993. Images revealed a tiny moon, later named Dactyl.
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Jupiter - NASA Solar System Exploration
Jan 13, 2026 · But the number doesn't capture the complexity of the Jovian system of moons, rings and asteroids. The giant planet has thousands of small objects in its orbit. This composite image shows …
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.