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COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS

COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS. DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES. COMETS. Icy object in space Rocky composition Remnants of solar system formation Progress slowly across the sky Reflect sunlight Can measure km’s in diameter Orbit the sun in elliptical orbits

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COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS

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  1. COMETS, ASTEROIDS AND METEORS DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

  2. COMETS • Icy object in space • Rocky composition • Remnants of solar system formation • Progress slowly across the sky • Reflect sunlight • Can measure km’s in diameter • Orbit the sun in elliptical orbits • Tail always points away from the sun • Meteor showers caused by Earth passing through debris paths of comets • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29byorgwMGY

  3. ASTEROIDS • Rocky composition • Most found in Asteroid Belt that orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter • Most are less than a km in diameter • When pieces break off they become meteors • Have slightly elliptical orbits • Progress slowly across the sky

  4. Meteors • Most are less than 100 m in diameter • Most are fragments of large asteroids • Also known as “shooting stars” • Streak across the sky very fast • Remnants of the formation of the solar system • Rocky composition • Most burn up as they enter the atmosphere • Meteor showers caused by Earth passing through debris paths of comets

  5. The Difference between Meteroids, Meteors and Meteorites Meteoroids are rocky bodies outside of Earth’s atmosphere Meteors are fragments of a meteoroid that breaks up on impact with our atmosphere with a fiery flash Meteorites are the rocky remains that fall to the surface of the Earth that survive the impact with Earth’s atmosphere

  6. IMPACTS WITH EARTH • When comets or meteors make impact with a planetary object like earth they can leave a huge crater impression in the surface. • Extreme heat is created at impact and Earth’s surface rocks often get fused and transformed by the heat and pressure created • Some impacts have had devastating consequences for life on Earth

  7. Examples of Impact Craters on Earth

  8. Map of Impacts with Earth

  9. 1. Vredefort Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 2 billion years agoLocation: Free State, South Africa • Details: Also known as the VredefortDome, the Vredefortcrater has an estimated radius of 118 miles (190 kilometers), making it the world's largest known impact structure. This crater was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.

  10. 2. Sudbury Basin • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 1.8 billion years ago • Location: Ontario, Canada • Specs: The Sudbury Basin is considered one of largest impact structures on Earth, with an estimated diameter of 81 miles (130 kilometers). Dating back 1.8 billion years, it is also one of the oldest known impact structures in the world.

  11. 3. Acraman Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 580 million years ago • Location: South Australia, Australia • Specs: Located in what is now Lake Acraman, this impact structure has an estimated diameter of 56 miles (90 kilometers).

  12. 4. Woodleigh Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 364 million years ago • Location: Western • Australia, Australia • Specs: This crater is not exposed at the surface and has led to many discrepancies regarding its actual size. Reports on its diameter vary from 25 to 75 miles (40 to 120 kilometers).

  13. 5. Manicouagan Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 215 million years ago • Location: Quebec, Canada • Specs: This impact crater formed what is now Lake Manicouagan. Even with erosion, it's considered one of the largest and best-preserved craters on Earth, with an estimated diameter of 62 miles (100 kilometers).

  14. 6. Morokweng Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 145 million years ago • Location: North West, South Africa • Specs: Located near the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, this crater contained the fossilized remains of the meteorite that created it.

  15. 7. Kara Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 70.3 million years ago • Location: Nenetsia, Russia • Specs: Now greatly eroded, the Kara crater is a non-exposed impact structure in Russia. Some have claimed that the impact structure actually consists of two adjacent craters: the Kara and the Ust-Kara crater.

  16. 8. Chicxulub Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 65 million years ago • Location: Yucatán, Mexico • Specs: Located on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, many scientists believe that the meteorite that left this crater caused or contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Estimates of its actual diameter range from 106 to a whooping 186 miles (170 to 300 kilometers), which if proved right could mean it's the biggest.

  17. 9. Popigai Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 35.7 million years ago • Location: Siberia, Russia • Specs: Russian scientists claim that this crater site contains trillions of carats of diamonds, making it one of the largest diamond deposits in the world. These diamonds have been referred to as "impact diamonds."

  18. 10. Chesapeake Bay Crater • Asteroid impact date: Estimated 35 million years ago • Location: Virginia, United States • Specs: Discovered in the early 1980s, the Chesapeake Bay Crater is located approximately 125 miles (201 kilometers) from Washington, D.C. Some estimates suggest this crater is 53 miles (85 kilometers) wide.

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