Transcript AIM: What else is in the Solar System? Do Now:

AIM: What else is in the Solar
System?
Do Now:
I. Asteroids
• Asteroids: small rocky bodies that can be
as big as 1000 Km (largest known asteroid
Ceres) and as small as a grain of sand.
– -Most lie between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter
– -Believed to be the remains of ancient planets
II. Comets
• Comets: pieces of rock and mineral that
are held together by frozen gasses such
as water, ammonia, methane and carbon
dioxide.
III. Parts of Comets
• Coma: the glowing head of the comet
cause by the vaporization of frozen gasses
as the comet approaches the sun
• Nucleus: the center of the coma
• Tail: the trail of dust and ionized gasses
that follow the coma.
– the tail points away from the sun
IV. Meteoroids
• Meteoroids: a small solid particle that
travels through space.
Three sources of meteoroids:
- interplanetary debris (stuff left over from
the formation of planets)
- material from asteroid belt
- solid remains of comets
• Meteors: are those meteoroids that burn
up in Earth’s atmosphere.
• The burning tails of meteors and
meteoroids are caused by friction between
the particles of rock and the air.
• Meteorite: are those meteoroids that reach
Earth’s surface.
Canyon Diablo meteorite
CLOSURE:
1) Describe the difference between a
meteoroid, meteor, and meteorites.
2) How can meteorites give us clues to
materials that exist in space?