Download Stony-Iron Meteorites are the Most Exotic of All Space Debris Found

Recent Impact Sites
on the Moon
On average, 300 tons of mass
(the mass of the obelisk shown
above) is added to the Earth
from meteorites each day.
Different Types of Meteorites
Stony
Meteorites
Iron
Meteorites
Stony-Iron Meteorites are the Most Exotic of
All Space Debris Found on Earth
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In 1969, the Allend meteorite created a dazzling blue display in
the skies near Chihuahua, Mexico, before impact.
SLICED OPEN
The dark blue color is due to carbon in the meteorite.
Trees flattened over an area 30km in diameter by the
Tunguska Impact in 1908
Confirming an ExtinctionLevel Impact Site
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WHAT DID YOU THINK?
!
Are the asteroids a planet that was somehow
destroyed?
!
No. Jupiter’s gravitational pull prevented planets from
forming in the asteroid belt, and the total mass of the
asteroids is much less than even that of Pluto.
!
How far apart are the asteroids on average?
!
Why do comets have tails?
!
!
10 million kilometers
Gas and dust evaporate from a comet’s nucleus, and these
tails are pushed away from the Sun by sunlight and solar
wind.
!
In which direction does a comet’s tail point?
!
What is a shooting star?
!
!
Directly away from the Sun.
A piece of space debris plunging through the Earth’s
atmosphere.
Key Terms
Apollo asteroid
asteroid (minor planet)
asteroid belt
coma (of a comet)
comet
dust tail (of a comet)
gas (ion) tail
hydrogen envelope
impact crater
Kirkwood gaps
Kuiper belt
long-period comet
meteor
meteor shower
meteoroid
nucleus (of a comet)
Oort cloud
radiation (photon)
pressure
short-period comet
stable Lagrange
points
tail (of a comet)
Trojan asteroid
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