Trojan asteroid

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/trojan-asteroid

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the compositional diversity?Range from C-type (carbonaceous) to D-type (primitive, possibly organic-rich) asteroids
2. Where do Trojan asteroids live?They live at the L4 and L5 points of a planet's orbit, forming clouds ahead of and behind the planet.
3. Why are Trojan asteroids important for science?They are old leftovers from the early solar system and keep the materials from that time, so studying them tells us how planets formed.

Lagrange points: Five points in the orbital plane of two bodies where a small object can maintain a stable position relative to both.
Protoplanetary disk: A rotating disk of dense gas and dust surrounding a newly formed star, from which planets eventually form.
Planetesimals: Small celestial bodies that are thought to have existed in the early solar system and were the building blocks of planets.
Orbital migration: The process by which planets can change their orbital distance from their star over time.