asteroidal

Like tumbling boulders

Asteroidal means relating to or resembling asteroids—the rocky bodies that orbit the sun, most densely between Mars and Jupiter.

The term appears in astronomy and planetary science: asteroidal debris, asteroidal belt, asteroidal impact.

Something asteroidal may also simply be asteroid-shaped: irregular, cratered, or rocky in appearance.

space

meteoroid

Small body in space

comet · planetesimal · spacecraft · telescope · Ceres · Vesta · Eros · Psyche · Ida · interplanetary

mythology

Ceres

Goddess of crops and growth

Psyche · Eros · Eris · naming · Roman · Greek · discovery · classification · numbered · catalogued

composition

meteorite

Space debris reaching Earth

  • chondriteMeteorite containing round grains
  • ironElement twenty-six
  • nickelElement twenty-eight, or coin

regolith · silicate · carbonaceous · olivine · pyroxene · feldspar · stony-iron · breccia · differentiated · primitive

orbit

trajectory

Path of moving object

inclination · velocity · resonance · Trojan · Kuiper · perturbation · retrograde · prograde · crossing · flyby

impact

crater

Impact or volcanic basin

airburst · ejecta · shockwave · devastation · cataclysm · deflection · DART · hazard · apocalyptic · bombardment

exploration

probe

Thorough examination or tool

  • missionPurpose-driven task
  • HayabusaAsteroid-sampling space probe
  • DawnProper name suggesting beginning

mining · prospecting · spectroscopy · mapping · surveying · lander · orbiter · radar · imaging · spacecraft

Categories
Opposites
celestial body type

asteroidalplanetary

Of or relating to worlds

stellar · solar · galactic · cometary · jovian

Phrases
Family

asteroid, asteroids

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