What is a Satellite?
A satellite is a moon, planet, or machine that orbits around a planet or star. For example, Earth is a satellite because it orbits around the sun. Likewise, the moon is a satellite because it orbits around the Earth. Usually, the word “satellite” refers to a machine that is launched into space and moves around the Earth or another body in space.
Earth and the moon are good examples of natural satellites. Thousands of artificial, or man-made, satellites orbit around the Earth.
Some satellites are used mainly for communications, like beaming TV signals and phone calls around the world. A group of more than 20 satellites helps the Global Positioning System or GPS. If you have a GPS receiver, these satellites can help figure out your exact location.
What is an Asteroid?
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit around the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the Sun-like planets, they are very much smaller than planets.
There are a lot of asteroids existing in our solar system. Most of them live in the main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids are leftover from the formation of our solar system. Our solar system began about 4.6 billion years ago when a big cloud of gas and dust collapsed. When this happened, most of the material fell in the center of the cloud and formed the sun.
Differences between Satellites and Asteroids:
| SATELLITES | ASTEROIDS |
|---|---|
| The objects which used to orbit around something is known as Satellite.- | Small rocks and metals which used to travel through space in the solar system are known as Asteroids. |
| It is a broad term that can be used for several structures such as man-made satellites, comets, asteroids that orbit around other structures. | Asteroids are similar to comets. These tiny small metal particles enter the earth’s atmosphere known as meteorites that are too small to form any shape. |
| Examples are Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. | Examples are Ceres, Eros, Geographos, Hathor, Hermes, Icarus, Pallas, Vesta. |
Conclusion:
We can easily conclude the differences between Satellites and Asteroids that Satellites may be natural or artificial that orbit around planets and Asteroids are minor planets that are present in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
