INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT ASTEROIDS :

1. On January 1, 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first asteroid. He named this asteroid CERES, after the Sicilian Goddess of grain. Ceres is also the largest asteroid to have been discovered so far.

2. According astronomers, asteroids are debris left behind by the Big Bang that could not come together to form another planet because of the effect of Jupiter's gravitational pull.

3. Asteroids have been hitting the Earth since millions of years. However, due to the friction with Earth's atmosphere most of the asteroids get burnt. The asteroids that enter the Earth' s atmosphere are called METEORS while the ones that get burnt and appear as shooting stars are called METEORITES.

4. The Chicxulub impact crater created by asteroid is thought to be 65 million years old. It is also thought to be the source of the climate changes that led to the extinction of all of the dinosaurs.

5. Most asteroids are covered in dust. This dust is called REGOLITH. It is result of constant collisions in space.