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Nature 417, 697-698 (13 June 2002) | doi:10.1038/417697a

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Planetary science: Rocks that go bump in the night

Derek C. Richardson

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The planets were probably created by collisions between smaller rocky bodies over many millions of years. The identification of a recently formed asteroid family will tell us much about the dynamics of these collisions.

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter lie the remains of the early, violent history of the Solar System. These are asteroids, rocky bodies that range in diameter from a few hundred metres to just under 1,000 km.