Origins and Evolution

Having described in the previous chapters the locations and structure of asteroids and dwarf planets, this part of the book shows how they came to be where we find them today and includes: The birth of the Solar System How asteroids formed Where near-Earth asteroids come from Why are there asteroids but no planets between Mars and Jupiter? Planetary satellites The origin of Trojan asteroids Unpredictable Centaurs The Edgeworth–Kuiper Belt (aka trans-Neptunian objects, or TNOs) – knowns and unknowns