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Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors. October 2, 2002. Introduction Meteors Asteroids Comets Doomsday Asteroid. Review. Moons categorized by geological activity Rings Saturn’s rings other rings Pluto Comets, Asteroids and Meteors. Other Bodies.

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Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

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  1. Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors October 2, 2002 Introduction Meteors Asteroids Comets Doomsday Asteroid

  2. Review • Moons • categorized by geological activity • Rings • Saturn’s rings • other rings • Pluto • Comets, Asteroids and Meteors

  3. Other Bodies • The solar system contains a number of other small bodies • Planetesimals from the formation of the Solar System which did not become part of a planet or moon • or pieces of a planet or moon which have broken apart • Comets • icy objects from the far outer solar system • Asteroids • rocky planetesimals from the inner solar system • Meteors • pieces of comets or asteroids which fall to Earth

  4. Meteors • Parts of the Solar System that come to us • some of the most studied astronomical objects • Categories • stony meteorites • iron meteorites • stony-iron meteorites • category depends upon source of meteor

  5. Asteroids • Classification depends upon formation • C-type • cooled without differentiation • snapshot of material of early Solar System • S-type • differentiated – iron core, silicate crust • M-type • iron core without crust

  6. Asteroid Orbits • Main asteroid belt • between Mars and Jupiter • Orbits vary • some asteroids come in closer than Earth • Asteroids are hard to see • we don’t know exactly how many asteroids are out there

  7. Outer Regions • The Solar System doesn’t end with the planets • Kuiper Belt • Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) • Lie in a plane 30-2000 AU • remnants of Solar System formation • Oort Cloud • sphere of objects 2000 – 100000 AU

  8. Comets • Made of icy materials from early in the formation of the Solar System • Can be seen from their long tails • Comets in the plane of the planets come from Kuiper Belt • Comets out of the plane come from Oort Cloud

  9. Anatomy of a Comet • Core • ice and organic materials • Sunlight converts ice to gas • Coma • cloud of gas surrounding nucleus • Ion tail • charged particles which follow solar wind directly away from the Sun • Dust tail • dust particles which curve away from the Sun • Both tails always point outward from Sun

  10. Period of a Comet • Short Period Comet • takes less than 200 years to complete orbit • generally in plane of Solar System • exposed to solar heating many times • Long Period Comet • takes more than 200 years to complete orbit • often pristine materials from early Solar System • can have very long, bright tails • unpredictable arrivals • About half a dozen new comets observed each year

  11. NEAR Shoemaker • Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous • Shoemaker for Eugene Shoemaker • Orbited Eros Asteroid for a year • studied surface, geology, gravity, magnetic field • Landed on Eros, Feb. 12, 2001 • wasn’t designed to land • continued functioning after landing

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