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Things that didn’t make up planets or moons. Minor Members Things that didn’t make up planets or moons. Meteors Asteroids Comets
Objective Students will be able to explain the differences and similarities among asteroids, comets, and meteors.
Asteroids
Asteroids Rocky objects larger than a mile across. Most are found in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter Earth has been hit by asteroids in the past.
Comets Comets
Back
Comets Are mostly made of ice. Orbit the sun. Many are in the Oort cloud.
Comets Are mostly made of ice. Orbit the sun. Many are in the Oort cloud. Their return can be predicted.
Radiant
Comets Are mostly made of ice. Orbit the sun. Many are in the Oort cloud. Their return can be predicted. Their tail shows the direction of the sun, not which way they are headed.
Meteors
Small objects traveling through space. Meteoroid Meteor Meteorite Small objects traveling through space. Meteoroids that have entered Earth’s atmosphere and are burning up – a “Shooting Star”. A meteor that has hit the ground. Phobos = fear Deimos = terror
Meteorite Meteor Meteoroid
We Have Been Hit The moon shows its record of impacts because it has no erosion.
We Have Been Hit The moon shows its record of impacts because it has no erosion. Earth shows only recent signs of impact.
Tunguska, Siberia 1908
We Have Been Hit The moon shows its record of impacts because it has no erosion. Earth shows only recent signs of impact. One major theory says that we were hit 65 MYA and this killed the dinosaurs.
Iridium Iridium is very rare here on Earth but plentiful in asteroids. A layer of Iridium is found at the K-T Boundary(65 MYA)