Asteroid

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

Asteroids in Real Life

• 99942 Apophis is a 45-million-ton rock with a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking the Earth in 2036.

Asteroids in Science Fiction

Asteroids often appear in science fiction stories, both in our solar system and in other galaxies. A common idea proposed by scientists and featured in science fiction is the mining of asteroids.

• 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 Anubis tried to wipe out Earth with a planet-killer asteroid primarily composed of naquadah.