THE MINOR PLANETS

Between Mars and Jupiter, a number of small bodies are known to exist, which have sometimes been dignified by the name of “minor planets.” They have also been called “Planetoids” and “Asteroids.” Special names have been given these individual small bodies—Eros, Ceres, Pallas, Vesta, Juno, etc. Eros passes, upon occasions, very close to our earth; again passing beyond the orbit of Mars. Several hundreds of these smaller planets are now known to exist—as though they were the remnants of some shattered world. These bodies are very small: Ceres, e.g., being about 250 miles in diameter; Pallas, 304 miles; Vesta, 211 miles; while a number of the others are thought to be from 5 to 15 miles in diameter.