Exploring the Asteroid Belt and Its Mysteries

What was the name of the first asteroid discovered?

• Pallas

• Ceres

• Juno

• Vesta

What term is used to describe asteroids that are rich in carbon?

• Silicaceous

• Carbonaceous

• Icy

• Metallic

What is the name of the gap in the Main Belt caused by Jupiter's gravity?

• Cassini Division

• Encke Gap

• Herschel Gap

• Kirkwood Gap

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

NGSS.HS-PS2-4

Which spacecraft visited the asteroid Vesta?

• Hayabusa

• New Horizons

• Dawn

• Voyager

What is the term for groups of asteroids with similar orbits?

• Bands

• Swarm

• Families

• Clusters

What is the largest asteroid in the Main Belt?

• Vesta

• Pallas

• Ceres

• Juno

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

What are asteroids that cross Earth's orbit called?

• Trojan asteroids

• Aten asteroids

• Mars-crossing asteroids

• Apollo asteroids

What are the points called where gravitational forces are balanced along a planet's orbit?

• Nodal points

• Trojan points

• Equilibrium points

• Lagrange points

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

NGSS.HS-PS2-4

What is the name of the first Trojan asteroid discovered?

• Achilles

• Hector

• Patroclus

• Paris

Who governs the naming process for newly discovered asteroids?

• NASA

• International Astronomical Union

• European Space Agency

• United Nations