Transcript Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

Small Bodies in the
Solar System
5/15/14
Put you DRW on the box
20-3 pgs. 557-561
IN: List the 8
planets in order
starting closest to
the sun.
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•
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Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Inner Planets
terrestrial
-small, dense,
and rocky
Asteroid Belt
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•
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Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Outer Planets
gas giants
-large and made
mostly of gas
• Asteroids – large chunks of rock that orbit
the Sun.
• Sometimes referred to as minor planets.
Asteroid Belt – the region of the solar system,
between Mars and Jupiter, where asteroids
orbit the Sun.
Comets
• Comets – a small body of ice, rock
and cosmic dust loosely packed
together.
The Tail of a Comet
• A comet’s ion tail consists of electrically
charged particles of dust and gas.
Halley's Comet is the most famous of the
periodic comets and can currently be seen every
75–76 years.
Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar
System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061.
(You don’t have to draw this.)
Meteoroid, Meteorite, or Meteor?
• Meteoroid – a very small, rocky body
that revolves around the sun.
• Meteor – the bright streak of light
caused by dust burning up.
• Meteorite – a rock that reaches the
Earth’s surface without burning up
completely.
A “shooting star” is NOT an actual star.
Meteor Showers
Meteoroids and the Moon
Meteorites and the Earth
Objects smaller than
about 10 m across
usually burn up in the
atmosphere.
Meteor Crater
• The crater was created about 50,000 years ago.
• The object that excavated the crater was a nickeliron meteorite about 50 meters (54 yards) across,
which impacted the plain at a speed of several
kilometers per second (28,600 mph).
•OUT: What would result
if a meteorite struck the
Earth?