Asteroids have always been one of the most intriguing topics of all time. Myriad questions cross our minds when we talk about asteroids. How big is one? Will, it ever hit the Earth? How far is it? Is anyone of those capable enough to wipe out mankind from Earth? Many have hit the Earth before and many will bump into our planet in the future. Hence it is important for scientists to study them. Not everything can be answered at once but let us mention below ten biggest asteroids to fill your curiosity caps.
1 Ceres
Ceres is the biggest asteroid known to mankind with a diameter of about 940 km. Not to our surprise, it comes under the category of a Dwarf plant as well due to its abnormal size and shape. Although Ceres is a part of an Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter but currently it is inside Neptune’s Orbit. It was founded in 1802 by Giuseppe Piazzi when it was a whopping 413 million km away from the Earth. It is the only asteroid in the asteroid belt that is round in shape as a result of its own gravity. Another amazing fact about it is that NASA has discovered ice and an atmosphere of hot water vapor on its surface along with Organic Carbon which is essential to support life!
2 Pallas
2 Pallas covers about 7% of the total mass of the asteroid belt and is the 3rd largest Asteroid in the solar system. It was discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers in 1802 floating around 441 million km from Earth. At first, it was believed to be a comet but further observations and analysis of its strangely slow and uniform motion disqualified it to be put under the category of a comet.
4 Vesta
Having a diameter of 525 km, 4 Vesta is placed 2nd in the list. This gigantic asteroid floats about 500 million km away from Earth and dwells in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. It contributes about 9% of the total mass of this asteroid belt. It was discovered in 1807 by Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers, the discoverer of 2 Pallas as well. It got its name, Vesta, after “The Virgin Goddess of home and earth” from Roman Mythology and is the brightest asteroid visible from earth.
10 Hygiea
10 Hygiea is the 4th largest asteroid for having an estimated diameter of 434 km. It is located in the Asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, at least 632 million km away from Earth. It was discovered by A. de Gasparis in 1849. Scientists are also considering giving it a designation of a dwarf planet due to its mass and shape. Despite its gigantic size, it appears dim when observed from Earth. This is due to its dark surface and the position on the outer side of the Asteroid Belt. Hygeia is the main member of the Hygiean asteroid family that constitutes about 1% of the total Asteroid belt.
704 Interamnia
704 Interamnia lies 448 million km away from Earth. This 5th largest asteroid in our list has an estimated diameter of 350 km. Despite its large size, not much is known about its shape and spin state, hence it is difficult to tell about its past collisional evolution. The asteroid was discovered quite late on 2nd October 1910 by Vincenzo Cerulli. Although it hasn’t been studied much but scientists suggest that it is likely an icy body.
52 Europa
52 Europa has a diameter similar to 511 Davida and for years its size bothered scientists as they couldn’t conclude if it was bigger than 511 Davida. Recent studies allowed scientists to conclude that it is bigger than Davida with a diameter of 315 km. It was discovered in 1858 by Hermann Goldschmidt and appears similar to Davida due to its carbonaceous nature. Its surface contains a huge amount of carbon giving it a dark appearance and hence very little light is reflected that falls on it.
511 Davida
511 Davida was discovered by R.S. Dugan in 1903 and was named after David Peck Todd, an astronomy professor. The asteroid has a diameter of approximately 270-310 km and is made up of carbonaceous compound. Its dark appearance makes it difficult to spot. Davida orbits the sun in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, around 388 million km away from Earth.
87 Sylvia
This Dark Giant is also a part of Cybele group and a parent body of Sylvia family of asteroids. 87 Sylvia has a diameter of about 280 km making it the 8th biggest asteroid in the list. Most asteroids do not typically have moons but this gas giant has two; Romulus and Remus. It was discovered in 1866 by N. R. Pogson from India and lies in the outer part of the belt nearly 324 million km away from Earth.
15 Eunomia
15 Eunomia was discovered in 1851 by Annibale de Gasparis and lies in the inner asteroid belt, around 472 million km away from us in the constellation of Aries. This gas giant from the Eunomia family has been speculated by scientists to have a diameter ranging between 230 and 280 km. 15 Eunomia will make the closest approach to Earth in 2071 by coming 178 million km near.
31 Euphrosyne
31 Euphrosyne is the 10th largest asteroid in the list with a diameter of approximately 267 km. From over 30 asteroids discovered in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, it is one of the darkest of them all. It was discovered in 1854 by J. Ferguson and is located in the very edge of the belt which is on the farther side of it. The asteroid is around 448 million km away from Earth and is not visible because of being far and dark in appearance. Hence, Euphrosyne is only studied through radar and most of the information about it is only an estimate made by scientific calculations.
