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Potential meteorite impact
POTENTIAL METEORITE
IMPACT
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Potential meteorite impact
Vocabulary
Incandescence : An incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light
globe is an electric light which produces light with a filament wire heated to a high
temperature by an electric current passing through it, until it glows
Chunks : A thick, solid piece of something.
Interstellar : Occurring or situated between stars.
Asteroids : A small rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging
enormously in size, are found between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter,
Comets : A celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the
sun, a ‘tail’ of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
Perturbation : A deviation of a system, moving object, or process from its regular or
normal state or path, caused by an outside influence
Constellation : A group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally
named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure.
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Potential meteorite impact
Shooting stars" or meteors are bits of material falling through Earth's atmosphere; they
are heated to incandescence by the friction of the air. The bright trails that are coming
through the Earth's atmosphere are termed meteors, and these chunks that are hurtling
through space are called meteoroids. Large pieces that do not vaporize completely and
reach the surface of the Earth are termed meteorites.
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Potential meteorite impact
Where do they come from? They probably come from within our own solar system,
rather than interstellar space. They may share a common origin with the asteroids.
Some evidence indicates an origin from comets. Several "shooting stars" or meteors per
hour can usually be seen on any given night. Sometimes the number of meteors seen
increases dramatically: these are termed "meteor showers". The number is greater in
autumn and winter. The number always increases after midnight and is usually greatest
just before dawn.
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Potential meteorite impact
© 2014 wheresjenny.com
Potential meteorite impact
Impact of Potential Meteorite
• A potentially hazardous object (PHO) is of a large size, enough to cause significant
regional damage in the event of impact.
• A potentially hazardous object with a reasonably well determined orbit can be a threat to
Earth for the next 100 years or more.
• A shower of stones fell upon Nakhla, near Alexandria, Egypt on June 28, 1911, one of
which allegedly killed a dog.
• On November 30, 1954, Mrs. Hewlett Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama was severely
bruised by an 8 pound stony meteorite that crashed through her roof.
• If the asteroid hits on land, there would be a huge amount of dust thrown up into the
atmosphere.
• If it hits in water, then there would be an increase in water vapor in the atmosphere. This
would result in an increase in rain resulting in landslides and mudslides.
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Potential meteorite impact
Regionally there might be earthquakes, hurricanes and tsunamis due to the increase in
kinetic energy. If the asteroid is large enough, these could be global impact.
© 2014 wheresjenny.com
Potential meteorite impact
© 2014 wheresjenny.com
Potential meteorite impact
Questions
1) Have you seen any such instances?
2) Have you heard of any such impact ?
3) Have you seen a shooting star?
4) Have you seen UFO?
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