Whirligig World makes several major changes to the stock asteroid feature. These non-celestial-body asteroids, created for the Asteroid Redirect Mission update in KSP version 0.23.5, were balanced for gameplay--and as a result, they are generally fairly small and their densities are quite literally lower than styrofoam.

Asteroids now come in more varied sizes (up to ten times larger) and come in varied, more realistic densities. Each type of asteroid has different amounts of Ore, and when Community Resources Pack is installed, different levels of various resources.

Moving the largest and most massive E-class asteroids is now an exercise in futility without very high-power propulsion systems, while moving more reasonably sized A-class asteroids is a suitable challenge.

Unrealism Patch

...Unless you don't like a realistic challenge. The WhirligigWorld/settings.cfg file contains a setting which allows the user to reduce the density and size scales of asteroids to more stockalike density. The different asteroid densities and compositions remain, but the densities are multiplied by 0.01 to get more in line with the default asteroid density of 0.03 g/cm^3.

Identifying Asteroids

Unfortunately as of now there is no way to change the name of asteroid spawns to determine what population they belong to or what their spectral type is, and no way to modify the A through E size classification system to accurately report the size of these bodies either. Hopefully this will be remedied in future updates. Currently, the only way to identify an asteroid is by its resources and/or by measuring its mass and radius with in-game tools. Asteroids of a given type will only spawn in certain regions of the solar system, which can narrow down which type of asteroid you're dealing with.

Asteroids by Type

ICY ASTEROID or COMET

These asteroids are found only in the outer system, either as trans-Reander or trans-Mandrake objects, or as comets. They're composed mostly of water ice, with other forms of volatiles and a small proportion of rocky material. 1P/Fophie and Mally are both examples of such icy bodies, and their composition is similar to the large moons Imterril and Lito.

• Density: 1.5 g/cm^3
• Minimum Diameter: 3 meters
• Maximum Diameter: 300 meters
• Ore Range: 80% - 90%
• Major CRP Resources: Water, Hydrates, Rock.

CARBONACEOUS ASTEROID

These asteroids are found generally in the middle and outer system. Largely rocky in composition, these asteroids also contain large amounts of water ice and carbon. The asteroids 1 Wers, 3 Rik, and the moon Yeerbor are all Carbonaceous asteroids. Thresomin and Troymin share similarities with these asteroids as well.

• Density: 2.3 g/cm^3
• Minimum Diameter: 3 meters
• Maximum Diameter: 300 meters
• Ore Range: 50% - 85%
• Major CRP Resources: Rock, Water, Carbon, Hydrates.

STONY ASTEROID

These asteroids are made mostly of silicate rock with some metal and some water-rich clays. The asteroids 1 Vizea and 2 Wolda are members of this group. They are mostly found in the inner system.

• Density: 3.4 g/cm^3
• Minimum Diameter: 3 meters
• Maximum Diameter: 300 meters
• Ore Range: 20% - 60%
• Major CRP Resources: Rock, Silicates, Metallic Ore, Hydrates.

METALLIC ASTEROID

These asteroids are composed largely of iron-nickel with some silicate rock and virtually no volatiles. Statmun is the sole large member of this class. These asteroids are rare except for in the deep-inner-system, between Shol and Tyepolbynar.

• Density: 6.5 g/cm^3
• Minimum Diameter: 3 meters
• Maximum Diameter: 150 meters
• Ore Range: 0.5% - 5%
• Major CRP Resources: MetallicOre, RareMetals, ExoticMinerals, Rock, Silicates.

Asteroid Orbital Groups

Asteroids can be found across the system in various populations.

Mesbin: Mesbin has a diffuse ring system of thousands of moonlets of Metallic, Stony, and Carbonaceous composition. Most of the moonlets are focussed in a ring between Statmun and Graymun, but there are a few "stragglers" that orbit below Statmun on orbits which come dangerously close to striking the surface, and a few that orbit in excited orbits beyond Graymun. Thresomin is considered to be the largest of this population. Mesbin also has Trojan camps 60 degrees ahead of and behind its orbit. 1 Wers/Vizea is the largest of the trojan population (for any planet).

The Main Belt: A belt of mostly metallic and stony asteroids exists between Shol and Tyepolbynar. It is the largest population of debris in the system.

Trojans: Shol has trojan camps of metallic and stony asteroids. The stony asteroids may have enough ore to be useful for refueling down at Shol. Shol has no moons or moonlets of its own, save for the possibility of capturing a Main Belt asteroid. Tyepolbynar, Mesbin, and Valyr also have trojan asteroids of stony, carbonaceous, and metallic compositions. Reander's trojans are mostly carbonaceous and icy in composition.

Trans-Planetary Asteroids: In our solar system, these might be called Near-Earth-Asteroids. These asteroids are found on eccentric, inclined orbits between Mesbin, Valyr, and Egad. They are mostly stony, though there are a few metallic, carbonaceous, and even icy asteroids.

Egad-Reander Belt: A belt between Egad and Reander. This asteroid belt is split into two populations, a denser outer population of mostly carbonaceous and icy asteroids with a few stony asteroids, and an inner population of mostly stony asteroids with a few carbonaceous and metallic asteroids.

Comets: Comets are icy asteroids which are found on eccentric, inclined orbits. They may be found beyond Gememma--which have periods so long they're considered aperiodic, or nearby Gememma or closer, in which they are considered Periodic comets. 1P/Fophie is the only known large member of this group.

Gememma-Orbiting: Gememma has a few populations of asteroids of its own. Below Ammenon are the Sub-Ammenon Objects, which are mostly metallic and stony. The scattered belt is a cloud of objects between Ammenon and Mandrake/Rutherford. They may have inclinations from 0 to 90 degrees and may be of any composition, with stony and metallic asteroids more common lower down and icy and carbonaceous asteroids more common further up. Gememma also has icy comets in eccentric orbits.

Trans-Lowel/Ollym: These objects are found on orbits which cross Lowel and Ollym and share roughly the same inclination and low eccentricities.

Trans-Mandrake/Rutherford: Mostly Carbonaceous and Icy asteroids which orbit near Mandrake/Rutherford.

Celestial Bodies

For completeness, here's a list of celestialBody asteroids and minor bodies (immovable objects with terrain and gravity).

• 1 Wers. Gravitational primary body of the first asteroid to be detected in the Kaywell system. Dwarf Planet.
• 1 Vizea. The smaller companion of Wers, but its brighter surface means it is the brightest component of the binary and thus was first to be discovered.
• 2 Wolda. Wolda was found orbiting Kaywell between Shol and Tyepolbynar.
• Jifgif (Tyepolbynar). Contact-binary inner satellite of Tyepolbynar.
• Aerious (Tyepolbynar). Large rubble-pile in unstable (or possibly dynamically stable) Tyepolbynar orbit.
• Statmun (Mesbin). Metallic asteroid in mesbin-stationary orbit.
• Thresomin (Mesbin). Carbonaceous/Stony asteroid in mesbin-3:1-orbit.
• Troymin (Mesbin). Stony asteroid in Kerbmun trojan orbit.
• Denna (Valyr). Greenish stony satellite of Valyr.
• Plaph (Valyr). Stony satellite of Valyr.
• Didd (Manonam). Tiny stony subsatellite of Manonam.
• 3 Rik. Large carbonaceous asteroid.
• Mally (Reander). Reddish icy satellite of Reander.
• 1P/Fophie. Comet in periodic inclined eccentric Kaywell orbit.
• G1 Gallant. Stony asteroid wandering in the vicinity of Gememma.