Skip Navigation

ON THIS PAGE

    Don’t let the name fool you. Our solar system’s small bodies—asteroids, comets and meteors—pack big surprises. Asteroids and comets—and the meteors that sometimes come from them—are leftovers from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. While the planets and moons have changed over the millennia, many of these small chunks of ice, rock and metal have not. They are a lot like a fossil record of planetary evolution.

    There are currently known asteroids and known comets.

    More ›

    Eyes on the Solar System Ad

    Explore in 3D—Eyes on the Solar System

    Eyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, comets and the spacecraft exploring them from 1950 to 2050. Ride with the Curiosity Rover as it lands on Mars or fly by Pluto with the New Horizons spacecraft all from the comfort of your home computer.

    Eyes on the Solar System ›

    Small Bodies News

    'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object to travel through our solar system, got an unexpected boost in speed and shift in trajectory last year, a new study shows.
    More
    Our Solar System's First Known Interstellar Object Gets Unexpected Speed Boost
    Our Solar System's First Known Interstellar Object Gets Unexpected Speed Boost
    Asteroid 2018 LA entered Earth’s atmosphere at about 9:44 a.m. PDT (12:44 p.m. EDT, 16:44 UTC), and later disintegrated in the upper atmosphere near Botswana, Africa.
    More
    Tiny Asteroid Discovered Disintegrates Hours Later
    Tiny Asteroid Discovered Disintegrates Hours Later
    On Sunday, Dec. 16, the comet known as 46P/Wirtanen will make one of the 10 closest comet flybys of Earth in 70 years, and you may even be able to see it without a telescope.
    More
    See a Passing Comet This Sunday
    See a Passing Comet This Sunday
    Look closely, and you can make out the lander's solar panels.
    More
    Mars InSight Lander Seen in First Images from Space
    Mars InSight Lander Seen in First Images from Space
    Weeks after Parker Solar Probe made the closest-ever approach to a star, the science data from the first solar encounter is just making its way into the hands of the mission's scientists.
    More
    Preparing for Discovery With NASA's Parker Solar Probe
    Preparing for Discovery With NASA's Parker Solar Probe
    Upcoming 16th science pass of Jupiter marks Juno’s halfway point in prime mission data collection.
    More
    NASA's Juno Mission Halfway to Jupiter Science
    NASA's Juno Mission Halfway to Jupiter Science
    Two new image mosaics detail the lander's deck and "workspace" — the surface where it will eventually set down its science instruments.
    More
    NASA's InSight Takes Its First Selfie
    NASA's InSight Takes Its First Selfie
    Recently analyzed data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission has revealed water locked inside the clays that make up its scientific target, the asteroid Bennu.
    More
    NASA's Newly Arrived OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Already Discovers Water on Asteroid
    NASA's Newly Arrived OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Already Discovers Water on Asteroid
    For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars.
    More
    NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space
    NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space
    NASA's InSight has provided the first ever "sounds" of Martian winds on the Red Planet.
    More
    NASA InSight Lander 'Hears' Martian Winds
    NASA InSight Lander 'Hears' Martian Winds
    OSIRIS-REx observations of asteroid Bennu will improve predictions of which asteroids could be on a trajectory that could pose a risk to Earth.
    More
    Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment
    Planetary Defense: The Bennu Experiment
    Now unstowed, the spacecraft's robotic arm will point a camera located on its elbow and take images of the surroundings.
    More
    NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm
    NASA's Mars InSight Flexes Its Arm