An asteroid is best described as which of the following?

• A. Rock in asteroid belt
• B. Ice and dust in space
• C. Meteors in the atmosphere
• D. A small planet

Answer: (A)

Rocky bodies that orbit the Sun, with many located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. These objects are leftovers from the early solar system that never grew into a planet, so they tend to be irregular and rocky (sometimes metallic). This distinguishes them from comets, which are ice and dust and often have tails, and from meteors, which are bits that burn up when they hit Earth’s atmosphere. They’re also not planets, which are large enough to clear their orbits. So the best description is a rocky body in the asteroid belt.