The Planet Quiz Show  


Answer: Asteroids or Minor Planets

Additional Information:

The asteroids seem to have been the raw ingredients for a planet that never quite got its act together. Planets accreted (came together) mainly from smaller bodies that bumped gently into each other during the early days of the formation of the solar system. Jupiter’s strong gravitational field possibly caused a planet forming in its vicinity to break apart as it was struck by faster moving protoplanets influenced by Jupiter’s gravitational field. The breakup began a grinding down process that may have been the origin of the asteroid belt and the large impact scars on the moon known as the seas. There are now some 250,000 asteroids which are known.


Asteroid
Here is what a typical small asteroid looks like close up.

 

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