Out there, floating in the solar system, there are billions upon billions of asteroids. In the asteroid belt, which is remarkably close to Earth, there are hundreds of thousands that orbit on a steady plane. The rest? They are rogues that wander about our solar system, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. Some asteroids are far too small for us to detect. Others are kind of hard to miss, like Ceres, which is some 1,000 km (620 miles) across. They are too little to be considered planets, but they still pack a pretty mean punch. Here’s everything you need to know about world-ending asteroids and how we might stop them. See the infographic.
Understanding Killer Asteroids
