In order to know the meaning of the term asteroid, the first thing is to know its etymological origin. In this case we have to establish that it is the result of the sum of several components of the Greek language:
-The noun “aster”, which is equivalent to “star”.
-The root “eidos”, which can be translated as “form” or “appearance”.
In the same way, we can indicate that the “creation” of the term asteroid is attributed to the English astronomer William Herschel (1738 – 1822). This scientist created it in order to refer to celestial bodies that had the peculiarity of resembling a star, but were not really.
According to DigoPaul, asteroid is a word that is used with reference to what has a star shape, figure or aspect. In the field of astronomy, a small body that is part of the solar system is called an asteroid.
Recall that the solar system is a planet whose organization revolves around the star called Sol. Asteroids, in this framework, are rocky objects that orbit around the aforementioned star, usually between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
The diameter of asteroids does not exceed 1,000 kilometers: they are therefore smaller in dimension than planets. Instead, they are larger than meteoroids, other astronomical bodies in the solar system.
As a result of changes in the different concepts of astronomy, the classification of asteroids was also modified. It used to be considered that the first asteroid to have been discovered was Ceres, detected by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801. However, in 2006, Ceres came to be considered a dwarf planet. This novelty transformed Palas, found in 1802, as the first asteroid to have been discovered.
Already in the 21st century, astronomy has recognized hundreds of thousands of asteroids. The collision of larger bodies that, due to the influence exerted by Jupiter’s gravity, could not be constituted as planets, is the origin of these stars that are between ten meters and almost 1,000 kilometers in diameter.
Asteroids have greatly inspired the world of cinema. A good example of this are several films that take one as a starting point or that develop around it. Examples are these:
– “Asteroid”. It is a feature film released in 1997, which is directed by Bradford May and revolves around the arrival of an asteroid on Earth.
-“Asteroid. Final impact ”. In 2015, this other action film, directed by Jason Bourque and starring Anna van Hooft and Mark Lutz, hit the movie theaters. It tells how a scientist manages to discover that a huge invisible-type meteorite is approaching Earth in a dangerous way, so that humanity is in serious danger.
To these films we could add others such as “Deep Impact” (1998), “Armaggedon” (1998) or “2012”.
