SOLAR SYSTEM

Detailed explanation-1: -Meteorites are rocks, but they are not like Earth rocks. Most are far older, and they provide some of the only samples we have of other worlds – other planets, asteroids and possibly comets – in our solar system. Some meteorites even contain tiny particles that formed around other stars that existed before our Sun.

Detailed explanation-2: -They probably consist of clay and silicate rocks, and are dark in appearance. They are among the most ancient objects in the solar system. The S-types ("stony") are made up of silicate materials and nickel-iron. The M-types are metallic (nickel-iron).

Detailed explanation-3: -How are asteroids formed? Dust particles in the early Solar System collided, forming larger clumps, known as planetesimals. These could grow by attracting more dust with their gravitational fields; some grew large enough to form the planets. Others remained, becoming the asteroids.

Detailed explanation-4: -Asteroids aren’t all round like planets. They have jagged and irregular shapes. Some asteroids are hundreds of miles in diameter, but many more are as small as pebbles. Most asteroids are made of different kinds of rocks, but some have clays or metals, such as nickel and iron.