Asteroid

Asteroids are chunks of solid matter of various shapes that are smaller than planets.

Asteroids in Science Fiction

Asteroids often appear in science fiction stories, both in our solar system and in other galaxies.

• Isaac Asimov wrote Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids.
• Robert A. Heinlein's Rolling Stones features prospectors in the asteroid belt.
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back's Hoth system contained an asteroid belt.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation featured many asteroid belts in various episodes. In one, the Enterprise had to race against time to drag an old, nuclear-powered starship safely through an asteroid belt into the sun because parabolic orbits are unknown in the 24th Century.
• On Stargate, the Goa'uld tried to wipe out Earth with a planet-killer asteroid primarily composed of naquadah.