| / English Dictionary |
ASTEROID
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("asteroid" is a kind of...):
minor planet; planetoid (any of numerous small celestial bodies that move around the sun)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "asteroid"):
Chiron (an asteroid discovered in 1977; it is unique in having an orbit lying mainly between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus)
Instance hyponyms:
Apollo asteroid (an asteroid whose orbit crosses the Earth's orbit)
Ceres (the largest asteroid and the first discovered)
Pallas (a large asteroid; the second asteroid to be discovered)
Pluto (a large asteroid that was once thought to be the farthest known planet from the sun; it has an elliptical orbit)
Vesta (the brightest asteroid but the fourth to be discovered)
Derivation:
asteroid (shaped like a star)
asteroidal (of or relating to or resembling an asteroid)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Shaped like a star
Synonyms:
asteroid; star-shaped
Classified under:
Similar:
angular; angulate (having angles or an angular shape)
Derivation:
asteroid (any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter))
Context examples:
Although it is extremely cold during the night hours, the asteroid's surface warms significantly in the mid-afternoon, which is when the three major events occurred.
(NASA's OSIRIS-REx Explains Bennu Mystery Particles, NASA)
At the time of closest approach, based on current calculations to be about 2:18 p.m. EDT (11:18 a.m. PDT / 18:18 UTC), the asteroid will be roughly over New Zealand.
(Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday, NASA)
Large craters formed by asteroid impacts in the last billion years are covered by boulders and rocks, while older craters have few rocks, Diviner data showed.
(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)
Asteroid 2004 BL86 was initially discovered on Jan. 30, 2004 by a telescope of the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey in White Sands, New Mexico.
(Asteroid to Fly By Earth on January 26, NASA)
The object approached our solar system from almost directly above the ecliptic, the approximate plane in space where the planets and most asteroids orbit the Sun, so it did not have any close encounters with the eight major planets during its plunge toward the Sun.
(Small Asteroid or Comet 'Visits' from Beyond the Solar System, NASA)
"This is a great opportunity to expand our knowledge of how asteroids behave."
(NASA's OSIRIS-REx Explains Bennu Mystery Particles, NASA)
In general, because of its larger size and higher gravity, about twenty asteroids strike Earth for every one that strikes the Moon, though large impacts on either body are rare.
(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)
At the time of its closest approach on January 26, the asteroid will be approximately 745,000 miles (1.2 million kilometers) from Earth.
(Asteroid to Fly By Earth on January 26, NASA)
At first glance, the particles appeared to be stars behind the asteroid, but on closer examination, the team realized that the asteroid was ejecting material from its surface.
(NASA's OSIRIS-REx Explains Bennu Mystery Particles, NASA)
The number of asteroid impacts to the Moon and Earth increased by two to three times starting around 290 million years ago.
(Moon Data Sheds Light on Earth’s Asteroid Impact History, NASA)
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