Graphics showing all asteroids and comets visited by spacecraft as at 18 August 2020. The images and distances are not to scale but are distributed to give a rough idea of increasing size and distance.
The Trans-Neptunian Object 486958 Arrokoth isn’t included, but as at 1 January 2019, it became the farthest object in the Solar System to be visited by a spacecraft, at 44.58 AU.
Feel free to use, just credit all image sources shown at the bottom of each graphic and credit Vissiniti for the design.
To understand the difference between asteroids and comets, read my article Asteroid vs Comet. To understand what is meant by an asteroid’s spectral type, read my article History of Asteroid Classification.
To view a comparative graphic of the largest 22 objects in the asteroid belt, roughly to scale, click here.
*Psyche has not yet been visited so this is a shape model — the asteroid will be visited by a spacecraft in 2026.
For details about the mission to Ryugu see the Hayabusa2 website, and for Bennu see the OSIRIS-REx website.
