Asteroids
22 343 TRACKEDRocky leftovers from planet formation — the bright and the big, plus every near-Earth object worth watching.
RANKED LISTS
PRIMER — 60 SECONDS
What H means
Absolute magnitude: how bright the body would look one astronomical unit from both the Sun and the observer, with the Sun directly behind us. Nothing is ever in that position, which is the point — it is a property of the body rather than of where it happens to be, so it is the number in the magnitude column here. It stands in for size, since the diameter is measured for only 12,025 of the 22,220 asteroids in this catalogue.
Why the belt never became a planet
Jupiter's gravity stirs the region hard enough that collisions shatter bodies rather than accumulate them. All of it together would not make one Moon.
[
THE FAMOUS ONES
] 12 ENTRIESNAME
CLASS
MASS
DISTANCE
MAG
CONSTELLATION
1 Ceres★
Main-belt asteroid
1.57×10⁻⁴ M⊕
2.766 AU · Sun
3.34 H
—
4 Vesta★
Main-belt asteroid
2.59×10²⁰ kg
2.361 AU · Sun
3.25 H
—
2 Pallas★
Main-belt asteroid
2.04×10²⁰ kg
2.77 AU · Sun
4.12 H
—
16 Psyche★
Main-belt asteroid
2.4×10¹⁹ kg
2.926 AU · Sun
6.20 H
—
433 Eros★
Amor near-Earth asteroid
6.69×10¹⁵ kg
1.458 AU · Sun
10.40 H
—
3200 Phaethon★
Apollo near-Earth asteroid
—
1.271 AU · Sun
14.38 H
—
162173 Ryugu★
Apollo near-Earth asteroid
4.49×10¹¹ kg
1.191 AU · Sun
19.55 H
—
101955 Bennu★
Apollo near-Earth asteroid
7.33×10¹⁰ kg
1.126 AU · Sun
20.21 H
—
99942 Apophis★
Aten near-Earth asteroid
—
0.9224 AU · Sun
19.09 H
—
25143 Itokawa★
Apollo near-Earth asteroid
3.15×10¹⁰ kg
1.324 AU · Sun
19.26 H
—
134340 Pluto★
Trans-Neptunian object
—
39.59 AU · Sun
−0.55 H
—
136199 Eris★
Trans-Neptunian object
—
67.93 AU · Sun
−1.26 H
—
ALL CLASSESMAIN-BELT ASTEROID · 9712TRANS-NEPTUNIAN OBJECT · 7173JUPITER TROJAN · 2724OUTER MAIN-BELT ASTEROID · 1139APOLLO NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID · 544AMOR NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID · 496CENTAUR · 403MARS-CROSSING ASTEROID · 75ATEN NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID · 38INNER MAIN-BELT ASTEROID · 26ATIRA NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID · 8ASTEROID · 4
99306
Jupiter trojan
—
5.121 AU · Sun
12.55 H
—
99308
Jupiter trojan
—
5.146 AU · Sun
12.45 H
—
99309
Jupiter trojan
—
5.186 AU · Sun
12.56 H
—
99311
Jupiter trojan
—
5.169 AU · Sun
12.41 H
—
99323
Jupiter trojan
—
5.173 AU · Sun
12.74 H
—
99327
Jupiter trojan
—
5.123 AU · Sun
12.66 H
—
99328
Jupiter trojan
—
5.208 AU · Sun
12.43 H
—
99334
Jupiter trojan
—
5.316 AU · Sun
11.83 H
—
99368
Jupiter trojan
—
5.302 AU · Sun
12.57 H
—
9936 Al-Biruni
Main-belt asteroid
—
3.088 AU · Sun
12.26 H
—
993 Moultona
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.861 AU · Sun
11.42 H
—
99464
Jupiter trojan
—
5.222 AU · Sun
12.82 H
—
994 Otthild
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.53 AU · Sun
10.19 H
—
9950 ESA
Amor near-Earth asteroid
—
2.438 AU · Sun
16.20 H
—
9952
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.655 AU · Sun
13.19 H
—
995 Sternberga
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.615 AU · Sun
10.13 H
—
9963 Sandage
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.341 AU · Sun
13.01 H
—
9967 Awanoyumi
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.582 AU · Sun
12.99 H
—
9968 Serpe
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.566 AU · Sun
13.07 H
—
996 Hilaritas
Main-belt asteroid
—
3.09 AU · Sun
11.16 H
—
9970
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.792 AU · Sun
12.80 H
—
9976
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.691 AU · Sun
13.31 H
—
9977 Kentakunimoto
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.934 AU · Sun
13.23 H
—
9978
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.988 AU · Sun
13.25 H
—
997 Priska
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.672 AU · Sun
12.52 H
—
99814
Main-belt asteroid
—
3.162 AU · Sun
13.36 H
—
9983 Rickfienberg
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.706 AU · Sun
13.47 H
—
9986 Hirokun
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.572 AU · Sun
12.62 H
—
99877
Outer main-belt asteroid
—
3.951 AU · Sun
12.99 H
—
9988 Erictemplebell
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.9 AU · Sun
13.33 H
—
9989
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.855 AU · Sun
13.43 H
—
998 Bodea
Main-belt asteroid
—
3.115 AU · Sun
11.56 H
—
99907
Aten near-Earth asteroid
—
0.7284 AU · Sun
17.96 H
—
99913
Mars-crossing asteroid
—
2.292 AU · Sun
13.39 H
—
9991 Anezka
Outer main-belt asteroid
—
3.2 AU · Sun
13.46 H
—
99935
Apollo near-Earth asteroid
—
1.654 AU · Sun
16.15 H
—
99942 Apophis★
Aten near-Earth asteroid
—
0.9224 AU · Sun
19.09 H
—
99943
Jupiter trojan
—
5.291 AU · Sun
11.68 H
—
99950 Euchenor
Jupiter trojan
—
5.143 AU · Sun
12.47 H
—
9999 Wiles
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.839 AU · Sun
13.20 H
—
999 Zachia
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.615 AU · Sun
10.89 H
—
99 Dike
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.663 AU · Sun
9.46 H
—
9 Metis
Main-belt asteroid
—
2.387 AU · Sun
6.18 H
—