Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, and a Bruce Willis Movie

1
Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, and a Bruce Willis
Movie
2
What are Comets and where do they come from?

• Comets are composed of only a small tiny solid
  part, called a nucleus which has an average
  radius of only a few kilometers.
• Comets originate from either the Kuiper Belt or
  Oort cloud.

3
(No Transcript)
4
(No Transcript)
5
Why can we see Comets if they are just particles
of rock?

• The coma
• The comets tail formed by solar wind

6
(No Transcript)
7
More than a video game! Asteroids!
8
What are Asteroids?

• Light Asteroids consist of large quantities of
  iron and nickel resemble lunar rocks
• Dark Asteroids contain high quantities of
  hydrated mineral and carbon

9
Where do Asteroids come from?

• The mother planet and did Satan live there?
• The true representation of space

10
Orbits of Asteroids

• A belt exists between Mars and Jupiter

11
What are meteors, meteorites and meteoroids ?

• Meteorites Pieces of debris that are large
  enough to no vaporize on entrance through earths
  atmosphere and reach earths surface.
• Meteor Incandescent trails created by particles
  come through Earths atmosphere.
• Meteoroid The pieces of debris traveling through
  space.

12
What are Meteorites made of?

• Nickel-iron meteorites or siderites
• Stony meteorites or aerolites
• Nickel-iron with stone siderolites

13
(No Transcript)
14
Where did it they all come from?

• Cometary origin
• Remnants of planets
• Asteroid remnants
• ???

15
Is it possible?
16
What would happen if an asteroid or comet
collided with Earth?

• If either with a radius greater than a km would
  strike the earth it would cause an ELE
  (Extinction Level Event).
• Yes it is possible just recently in 1994 the
  Shoemaker comet struck Jupiter

17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
Is it possible for Bruce Willis to really save us
?
22
Current mission dealing with asteroids, comets,
and meteors

• Deep Space 1
• Stardust
• Deep Impact
• CONTOUR

23
Sources

• Solar System Exploration BodiesComets,
  http//sse.jpl.nasa.gov/features/planets/comets/co
  mets.html
• Explorezone.comExplore the Science of Asteroids,
  http//explorezone.com/space/asteroids.htm
• Spacelink-Comets Asteroids and Meteoroids,
  http//spacelink.nasa.gov/Instructional.Materials/
  Curriculum.Support/Space.Science/Our.Solar.System/
  Small.Bodies/Comets.Asteroids.and.Meteoroids
• The Threat of Colliding NEOs(Asteroids, Comets
  and Meteoroids), http//www.wilders.force9.co.uk/B
  eyondEarth/comets.htm
• Pictures and animations found at,
  http//seds.lpl.arizona.edu/sl9/sl9a.html