Solar Debris

1. Solar Debris Asteroids, Meteors and Comets

2. Asteroids Locations Types Meteors Impacts

3. What is an asteroid? • A small solar system object in orbit around the sun composed mostly of rock • Sometimes called “Minor Planets”

4. Location of Asteroids • Near Earth Asteroids: • Asteroids that orbit within the earth’s orbit • NEA

5. NEA asteroids • Mathilde • 1950 DA • May hit earth in 2880

6. Location of Asteroids • Main Belt Asteroids: • Asteroids that orbit between Mars and Jupiter • AKA Asteroid Belt • Have stable orbits • Largest Asteroid - Ceres

7. Location of Asteroids • Trojans: • Asteroids that are trapped in Jupiter’s orbit due to it’s strong gravitational pull • Lagrange points • 60 degrees in front/behind Jupiter

8. Location of Asteroids • Most asteroids located in the asteroid belt

9. Types of asteroids • C-type • S-Type • M-type

10. C-type • Composition-Carbonaceous (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

11. S-type • 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

12. M-Type • 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.

13. Solar Debris Day 2 Meteorites and Impacts

14. Meteor vs. Meteorites • Meteorites: • Small pieces of • asteroids that • hits the earth's • atmosphere

15. Terminology • 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

16. Meteorites • 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

17. Types of Meteorites • Stony • Iron • Stony-Iron

18. Stony • Composition – Silicate Rock • Most common type • Hardest to find because it looks like rock • Primitive • Contain Chondrules

19. Chondrule • Small organic particles left over from the formation of the solar system

20. Iron • 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

21. Stoney-Irons • Composition – Mix of Silicate and Metal • Very Rare • Easier to find then stoneys because of the iron

22. Location • Deserts • Metal detectors easily detect iron • Very little erosion to destroy meteorites

23. Location • Antartica • Metal detectors easily detect iron • Very little erosion to destroy meteorites • Meteorites contrast with snow • Moving glaciers push meteorites into piles

26. Exit Slip • Contrast s, m and c type asteriods • Compare and Contrast stoney, iron, iron-stoney meteorites • Tell me what a meteor shower is

27. Warm-up • What are the three types of Asteriods? • What are the three types of Meteorites?

28. Terrestial Impacts • a. Asteroids have hit the Earth in the past and WILL hit the earth in the future

29. Earth Impacts

30. Impact Craters • Barringer Crater • (1.2 km Diameter) • Manicouagan Impact Crater • (70 km in Diameter(

31. Impact Craters • Vredefort Crater • (140 km Diameter) • Richat Crater • (38 km in Diameter(

32. Known Impact Craters

33. Chiczulub Crater

34. Moon Impacts Crater Chain Tycho Crater

35. Mars Impact

36. Crater Structure

37. 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

38. Tektites

39. Shocked Quartz • Minerals that get compressed due to impact • Found below the craters

40. Comets

41. What is a comet? • Small solar system body that orbits the sun • Collections of ice, dust and rocky particles • Different from asteroids because of the tail

42. Comet’s Tail • Exhibits a visible coma and tail when it gets close enough to the sun • The tail is a result of solar radiation

43. Coma/Tail • 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

45. Locations of Comets

46. Oort Cloud • Large Spherical cloud of billions of comets • Surrounds the solar system • 50000 to 100000 AU

47. Kuiper Belt • 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

48. Kuiper Belt Orbit

49. Kuiper Belt Objects • Quaoar • Distance: 43 AU • Diameter: 800 miles

50. Quaoar’s Orbit