Interplanetary Bodies

Asteroids Solid bodies having no atmosphere Have well determined orbits More than 2000 in our solar system

Asteroids

Other info: Located mostly between Mars and Jupiter Can be 600 miles in diameter or as small as a pebble All together, the asteroid pieces wouldn’t equal a planet

The largest asteroid by far is 1 Ceres. It is 933 km in diameter and contains about 25% of the mass of all the asteroids combined

Meteoroids Chunks of matter that cross paths of the planets May hit earth’s atmosphere and burn up. The streaks of light are called meteors. Any chunk that strikes earth is called a meteorite.

Meteorite

Meteoroids Also called “shooting stars” In 1992 a football sized meteorite fell through the trunk of a car in Peekskill, NY

Meteor Showers

Impact Craters Over 120 impact craters and basins have been found on earth Meteor Crater in Arizona formed nearly 50,000 yrs. Ago is 570 feet deep is one of the largest

Chicxulub Basin Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula 190 miles wide Formed when a meteor struck earth about 65 million years ago

Yucatan Peninsula

Comets Move in very elliptical orbits around the sun Have a solid nucleus covered in ice that produces a cloud that trails behind it as it goes around the sun Tail always points away from the sun

Structure of a Comet

Comets A comet may be visible for weeks at a time Ericke’s Comet returns every 33 yrs. Halley’s Comet returns every 76 yrs.

Elliptical Orbit of a Comet

West Comet Halley’s Comet