Asteroids and Meteoroids

Earth has other neighbors in our solar system. Asteroids are chunks of rock and metal. Like planets, asteroids move around our sun, and most are found between Mars and Jupiter. Some asteroids are as small as a house while others are as big as a city. One asteroid is the size of Texas!

Meteoroids are chunks of debris in space. They are smaller than asteroids, and some meteoroids are even smaller than an ant. Still, others are as big as a bus. Sometimes a meteoroid falls towards a planet. A meteoroid that hits a planet is called a meteorite.

This large asteroid travels around the sun.

This crater, or large hole, in Arizona was created by a meteorite.