Comets in Action

1
Comets in Action!

• By Luke,
• Joyce,
• Katie,
• Matt

2
What is a comet?

• A comet is a lump of ice mixed with dust.
• Comets are relatively small consisting of all
  frozen mass.
• A comet will orbit around and around until it
  gets sucked in to the atmospheres gravity.
• A comet moves slow to our view, but it is moving
  very fast in the outer space.

3
Where do comets come from?

• Scientists think that comets come from a
  spherical region that surrounds the solar system
  called the Oort Cloud. When the gravity of a
  passing planet or star disturbs part of this
  cloud, a comet is pulled into orbit. Also,
  comets are thought to exist on a newly discovered
  region called the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt
  is an outside region of the orbit of Neptune.

4
What do comets look like?

• From far away comets look like shooting stars.
• They have holes and are non-spherical shaped.
• They look like theyre moving slow in the
  distance, but they can actually go faster than
  1500 mph.
• Comets catch on fire when they break through the
  atmosphere and they also break though because of
  their speed. Thats why they look like a shooting
  star.

5
What are the Different parts of Comets?

• Meteors are actually inside comets.
• There is a small core in the middle.
• There is a small layer, around the comet, of ice
  but there is two layers on the tail end.
• There is a small magnetic field and dust
  particles on its surface.
• There are small craters and slimy substances on
  top of it.
• The front end is the end that usually hits the
  Earths surface.

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Famous Comets

• The most famous comet is the Halleys Comet. It
  was found 240 B.C.
• The Brorsen-Metcalf comet was found in 1849.
• The Swift-Tuttle comet was found in 1862.
• The Giacobini-Zinner comet was found in the
  1900s.
• The Taylor comet was found in 1915.

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Famous Comets continued

• The Schwassmann-Wachmann1 was found in 1927.
• The Whipple comet was found in 1933.
• The Bowell-Skiff comet was found in 1983.
• Shoemaker-Levy 4 was found in 1991.
• Hale-Bopp was found in July, 1995.

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Different orbit lengths of Comets

• Halleys comets orbit length is 76.01 years
  long.
• Brorsen-Metcalfs orbit length is 70.54 years
  long.
• Swift-Tuttles orbit length is 135 years long.
• The orbit length of the Hale-Bopp comet changes
  every time so there is no exact length.
• Shoemaker-Levy 4s orbit length is 6.51 years.

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Different orbit lengths of comets continued

• The orbit length of the Giacobini-Zinner comet is
  6.61 years.
• The Taylors comets orbit length is 6.97 years
  long.
• The orbit length of Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 is
  14.85 years.
• Comet Whipples orbit length is 8.53 years.
• Bowell-Skiffs orbit length is 16.18 years long.

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Famous Discoverer

• Edgar Wilson was a very famous discoverer of
  comets.
• Edgar Wilson discovered thirteen different types
  of comets.
• Edgar Wilson was rewarded with the now called
  Edgar Wilson Award.
• Edgar Wilson got 20,000 for his discoveries of
  the thirteen different types of comets.

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Famous Discoverer

• Edmond Halley was a famous discoverer of the
  comet called Halleys Comet.
• Halleys Comet goes all the way back to the year
  of 240 B.C.
• There was some memorable appearances in years of
  1301, 1531, 1607, 1682.
• Edmond Halley was interested in movements in the
  sky, so he was interested in comets.
• Continues

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Famous Discoverer

• Edmond Halley was not the first to see Halleys
  Comet. The Chinese were the first viewers.
• Halleys Comet had recent visits in the years of
  1910 and also 1986.
• There was an uproar in 1910. People locked them
  selves in there houses to protect them from the
  comets gases.
• Continues

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Famous Discoverer

• Edmond Halley predicted that Halleys Comet would
  come in 1758.
• Which it did, and then the named the comet we
  know today as Halleys Comet, after Edmond Halley
  in honor of his estimation and his studies.
• Edmond Halley did not live to see if he was right
  on his estimation. Also to see Halleys Comet
  again.
• Continues

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Famous Discoverer

• Scientists predict that Halleys comet will come
  again in 2061.
• Edmond Halley also studied many other comets then
  Halleys Comet.
• Halleys Comet has an orbit of 76 years, if you
  havent noticed.
• Edmond Halley now is known as of the most known
  comet discoverer.

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How did comets wipe out dinosaurs?

• The dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years
  ago.
• The comet that hit traveled 12 to 42 miles a
  second.
• When the comet hit, it caused huge explosions and
  caused fire, tsunamis, and earth quakes.
• All creatures on earth were either crushed or
  drowned.

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Bibliography

• Cole, Michael D. Ice and Rocks in Space. New
  York Enslow Publish Inc. 9-17
• Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Astronomy. London
  Science and Technology, 2002. 84-86
• Nardo, Dan. Comets and Asteroids. London Gale
  Group. 1989. 14, 15, 46, 57
• Vogt, Gregory L. Comets. Minnesota Capstone
  Press 2002. 16-22

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Conclusion

• That was our report. You have learned about
  comets and what they are like. Also you have
  learned about some people that discovered comets.
  Comets are important because they are a major
  part of the galaxy. If a comet hits earth, we
  have to be prepared. If we are not prepared,
  everyone on earth will die, like what happened
  with the dinosaurs. We hope that you enjoyed
  viewing our presentation. Thank you.