small solar system body

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small solar system body

Any of various celestial bodies, such as asteroids and comets, that orbit the sun and are not classified as either planets or dwarf planets. See Usage Note at planet.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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According to the standard theory, the Earth is thought to have formed from the collision of small celestial bodies known as planetesimals.

Origin of Earth's Water: Comets Reopen Debate

In this comparison, asteroids are relatively nearby - forming a belt of relatively small celestial bodies strewn into orbit, somewhere between Mars and Jupiter.

NASA OSIRIS-REx sets out to find life's origin on a killer asteroid

Washington, July 26 ( ANI ): A new study of observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has revealed that most centaurs - the small celestial bodies orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Neptune - are actually comets.

Centaurs may actually be comets, not asteroids

asteroid Any of numerous small celestial bodies that orbit the sun, chiefly between Mars and Jupiter.

Asteroid carried unlikely cargo

asteroids Small celestial bodies that revolve around the sun, usually with orbits lying between Mars and Jupiter.