Asteroids, TNOs and dwarf planets

Asteroids (minor planets) of the Solar System are reckoned as celestial bodies with a diameter from several meters to hundreds of kilometers that move around the Sun, have an irregular shape and do not have an atmosphere. Asteroids may have their own moons (natural satellites). Asteroids are classified into groups and families based on one or another similarity of their orbits. Usually, the group is named after the first asteroid discovered in a given orbit. Groups are rather conditional associations that do not necessarily imply a common parent body in the past. Families are more compact associations formed in the past during the destruction of larger asteroids upon their collisions with other bodies. The Main Asteroid Belt is a region of the Solar System located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are orbiting the Sun. Apart from the main belt, asteroids are found to orbit within the inner region of the Solar System, in Jupiter’s orbit and beyond.