'Stroids!

Crazy Andromeda's (Inc.) Slightly Used Asteroids Clearinghouse

updated 7/14/2097, 7/9/3006

253 Mathilde

June 27, 1997. Asteroid 253 Mathilde has an encounter with the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft. It flew within 1200 km of the asteroid. The asteroid is about 59 km across (52 kilometer diameter). Made of carbon rich material, basically a big piece of charcoal. This took place when the asteroid was 298 million kilometers from the sun (2.0 AU). At least 5 craters bigger than 20 kilometers in diameter. Rotation: 17.4 days.

Some of the best real estate in the Solar System at rock bottom prices! How can we afford it?
VOLUME, VOLUME, VOLUME!

Asteroid 243 Ida (56 km long) and its moon Dactyl (1.5 km long) taken from the Galileo spaceprobe August 28, 1993. The spacecraft is 10,870 km away from the asteroid, and the moon is estimated at 100 km from the asteroid. At this point, the asteroid was 441 million km from the Sun.

Closeup of Dactyl, a very tiny moon orbiting the Asteroid 243 Ida. This is the first discovery of an asteroid with its own moon.

By the end of the 20th century, the elite super-rich were buying and living on their own islands (People like Paul McCartney and Marlon Brando). Why stop there? When you really want to get away from the rest of humanity, sometimes the only place far enough is a whole other planetoid! And what a view!

Asteroid Gaspra 951 (20 km long), taken from the Galileo spaceprobe October 29, 1991, from 1600 km away. This asteroid was discovered in 1916 by Grigoriy N. Neujamin.

Can't afford your own asteroid? Join up for one of our cruise ship excursions through the Asteroid Belt. It's scenic, exciting, and relatively safe!

These aren't really asteroids, they're moons of Mars. But they are small,irregularly shaped, and it seems likely they were asteroids at one time, captured by Mars' gravity. Both were discovered in 1877.

Phobos, about 13km across, a stone's throw from Mars (9380 km), and whizzing around it over 3 times a Martian day (24.2 Earth hours).

Deimos, about 6 km across, further out from Mars, but still close at 23,460 km. Orbits Mars a little over once a day.

All local and interplanetary laws apply. Owners assume legal responsibility for any future collision of their asteroid and the Planet Earth. Void where prohibited.

Why this fascination with chunks of rock floating in deep space? I dunno, it's probably something Freudian.