-Locations
-Types
-Meteors
-Impacts
A small solar system object in orbit
around the sun composed mostly of rock
 Sometimes called “Minor Planets”


Near Earth Asteroids:
› Asteroids that orbit within the earth’s orbit
› NEA


Mathilde
1950 DA
› May hit earth in
2880

Main Belt Asteroids:
› Asteroids that orbit between Mars and
Jupiter
› AKA Asteroid Belt
› Have stable orbits
› Largest Asteroid - Ceres

Trojans:
› Asteroids that are trapped in Jupiter’s orbit
due to it’s strong gravitational pull
› Lagrange points
 60 degrees in front/behind Jupiter

Most asteroids
located in the
asteroid belt
C-type
 S-Type
 M-type





CompositionCarbonaceous (lots of
carbon)
Color-Very dark
Percent- Most
common type of
asteroid (75%)
Primitive
› Unchanged since
formation
› Can be used to study
early solar system


Composition-Silicate
(SiO2)
Color-Light in color
› easier to see


Percent-Make up
15% of asteroids
Some primitive some
differentiated
› Geologic activity
has changed some
of the rocks





Composition Metallic
Origin-Metal cores of
larger asteriods that
broke apart
Color-Bright and
reflective
Percent-Rare (5-10%)
Differentiated
› Have melted since
they formed.
Meteorites and Impacts

Meteorites:
› Small pieces of
› asteroids that
› hits the earth's
› atmosphere





Meteoroid is a small object traveling through
space...it could have once been part of an asteroid
'Shooting Star' occurs when a meteoroid enters the
atmosphere.
. Meteor Showers occur when the dust particles from
an aged comet pass through the Earth's atmosphere
Meteor is the bright fireball seen when a sizeable
meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and begins
to burn...
Meteorite is the resulting body that has traveled
through the atmosphere, survived the entry, and has
landed on Earth
37,000 – 78,000 tons of material fall to the
earth each year
 Most are dust sized particles
 Shooting stars occur when meteriods
enter the atmosphere and start ot burn
up

Stony
 Iron
 Stony-Iron






Composition –
Silicate Rock
Most common type
Hardest to find
because it looks like
rock
Primitive
Contain Chondrules

Small organic
particles left over
from the formation of
the solar system




Composition – Metal
(iron and nickel)
Not common type
Easy to find iron
meteorites because
unoxidized iron does
not form on earth
Differentiated
Pieces of M-Type
asteroids



Composition – Mix of
Silicate and Metal
Very Rare
Easier to find then
stoneys because of
the iron

Deserts
› Metal detectors easily detect iron
› Very little erosion to destroy meteorites

Antartica
› Metal detectors easily detect iron
› Very little erosion to destroy meteorites
› Meteorites contrast with snow
› Moving glaciers push meteorites into piles
Contrast s, m and c type asteriods
 Compare and Contrast stoney, iron, ironstoney meteorites
 Tell me what a meteor shower is

What are the three types of Asteriods?
 What are the three types of Meteorites?


a. Asteroids have hit the Earth in the past
and WILL hit the earth in the future

Barringer Crater
› (1.2 km Diameter)

Manicouagan
Impact Crater
› (70 km in Diameter(

Vredefort Crater
› (140 km Diameter)

Richat Crater
› (38 km in Diameter(
Crater Chain
Tycho Crater

Ejecta Blanket –
› a layer of debris surrounding an impact layer

Breccia –
› crushed rock underneath the impact site

Tektites:
› small glassy rocks that were melted during
impact and blown through the air
› Found in the Ejecta blanket
Minerals that get compressed due to
impact
 Found below the craters

Small solar system body that orbits the
sun
 Collections of ice, dust and rocky
particles
 Different from asteroids because of the
tail



Exhibits a visible
coma and tail when
it gets close enough
to the sun
The tail is a result of
solar radiation

Coma
› Streams of dust and
gas released from
the atmosphere
around the comet

Tail
› Streams of dust and
gas that point in
slightly different
directions
› Dust reflects sun
Large Spherical cloud of billions of
comets
 Surrounds the solar system
 50000 to 100000 AU


Kuiper Belt
› A belt of millions of comets from 30 to 100 AU
from the sun
› From the orbit of neptune outward
› Discovered in 1992

Quaoar
› Distance: 43 AU
› Diameter: 800 miles

Sedna
› Distance: 86 AU
› Diameter: 1000 miles
› Probably has a
moon

Pluto
› Distance: 39.5 AU
› Diameter: 1470 miles
› Has moon: Charon
Similar size and same composition as other
KBO’s
Large Kuiper Belt Objects:
Eris “Xena”
Pluto
Sedna
136472
136108
Quaoar
2400 km
2320 km
~1800 km
1800 km
1600 km
1300 km

Comets leave a trail of debris behind
them that may be meteor showers
Comets
Major annual meteor showers:
Shower name
Date
Comet
Comet
Period
Quadrantid
Lyrid
Eta aquarid
Perseid
Orionid
Leonid
Geminid
Jan 3
April 21
May 4
Aug 11
Oct 31
Nov 16
Dec 13
?
?
Thatcher
415 yrs
Halley
76 yrs
Swift-Tuttle 105 yrs
Encke
3 yrs
Temple-Tuttle 33 yrs
Phaethon
1.4
Comet dust scattered through our solar
system that can be seen directly under a
dark/clear sky
 Can be seen in the east a few hour
before sunrise

Importance of studying Comets
Since Comets originate at the edges of our solar system, the Sun’s heat
and radiation have not affected comets since their formation.
Because of this, comets still contain volatile elements from the solar
system formation that have been baked out of other objects, such as
asteroids and planets.
Therefore, comets are important to study. Their volatile elements give us
unique information from the formation of our solar system.