Suppose Jupiter's gravity disturbs an asteroid and sends it on an elliptical orbit with a high eccentricity.If the semimajor axis of the resulting orbit is 2 AU,the object would be classified as a(n):
A) Kuiper Belt object.
B) C-type asteroid.
C) Trojan asteroid.
D) Earth-crossing asteroid.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

An elliptical orbit with a high eccentricity and a semimajor axis of 2 AU implies that the asteroid crosses the Earth's orbit, which makes it an Earth-crossing asteroid. Kuiper Belt objects are icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune, C-type asteroids are carbonaceous asteroids found in the asteroid belt, and Trojan asteroids are found in stable Lagrange points of a planet's orbit.

Suppose Jupiter's Gravity Disturbs an Asteroid and Sends It on an Elliptical