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Minor Planets

Minor planets are a group of solar system objects that orbit the Sun but do not include comets or planets. The term "asteroid" is often associated with these objects. These bodies can be subdivided into various groups based on their location or orbit, such as the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter but also trans‐Neptunian objects, Aten asteroids, Apollo asteroids, etc. Typically, these bodies are solid and rocky but can contain various ices as well, especially in the outer solar system. Explore a large variety of minor planets and their properties using Wolfram|Alpha.
Minor Planets

Query for minor planets using their proper names, if they have one, but many are referred to simply by a provisional designation based on their discovery date or by their IAU number once their orbit has been confirmed.

Compute the location and get properties of a minor planet:

Sedna
'Oumuamua

Compare several minor planets:

Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta

Compare dwarf planets:

Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea, Ceres
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Properties of Minor Planets

Investigate the properties, which tend to refer to orbital characteristics, of minor planets. Very few minor planets have been visited by spacecraft, so only a few objects are known well enough to have physical data available.

Request a property of a minor planet:

orbital period of Quaoar

Do computations with properties of minor planets and other objects:

mass Pluto / Moon
(surface area Ceres) / (area India)
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