Small Solar System Objects

11.1 - Be able to use data about the names and relative locations of bodies in the Solar System, including:
c) Small Solar System Objects (SSSOs): asteroids, meteoroids

Objects in the Solar System orbit a central star, our Sun. The largest bodies are known as planets and officially there are 8 of them. Most have moons. New type of objects have been defined in the last few years - dwarf planets. Typically these are smaller and have certain orbits to distinguish them from planets.

We shall also look at asteroids, meteoroids and also comets.

You might hear other descriptions in your astronomical Travels. Minor Planets are an old fashioned term to describe asteroids. Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) are objects like dwarf planets that move in an orbit past Neptune.