Asteroids and Comets are the leftovers from the formation of our Solar System. When we think of the Solar System, we tend to think of the Sun, its eight planets, and their moons. But there is much more going on here than meets the eye. The empty spaces of our solar system are littered with small objects known as asteroids and comets. These objects can be thought of as the leftovers of the Solar System. There are chunks of rock, ice, or both that are believed to have formed from the primordial matter that originally created the Solar System. Comets have been known since ancient times. This is because they tend to announce their arrival in grand style. As the Sun heats their cores, their long, glowing tails can be seen for weeks as the circle the Sun. These objects were once thought to be omens of disaster. And for good reason, at some point in the future, one of the chunky rocks or icy mud balls may slam into Earth and alter the course of history. Such an impact 65 million years ago is widely believed to have killed off the dinosaurs.
because that is exactly what they look like. The ice that forms a comet can consist of both water as ice and frozen gases. Astronomers believe that comets may be formed from the very material that created the early solar system. Several missions are in the works to return samples from a comet in hopes that they will help us to better understand the history of our solar system. We all think of comets as having a tail. But this tail only forms when a comet gets close to the Sun. As the comet heats up, dust and gas is expelled through cracks and fissures in its surface. This material trails behind the comet where it is illuminated by the Sun. This causes it to glow, forming the tail that comets are famous for. While there are perhaps trillions of comets ringing the outer fringes of the solar system, bright comets appear in Earth's visible night sky about once per decade. Short-period comets such as Halley's were perturbed from beyond the orbit of Neptune and pass through the inner solar system once or twice in a human lifetime. Long-period comets which rings the outer reaches of the solar system, and pass near the sun once every hundreds or thousands of years.
Asteroids are essentially gigantic chunks of rock floating in space. They range in size from a few feet to several miles in diameter. Many asteroids orbit the Sun. Most are located in an area between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter known as the asteroid belt. There are at least 30,000 of these giant boulders in this area, each in it own individual orbit around the Sun. The asteroid belt is somewhat of a mystery. It seems there should be a planet here in this large gap instead of asteroids. Many astronomers believe that billions of years ago a large, rocky planet may have existed here. It may have been blasted apart by some type of cataclysmic event, such as a collision with a large planetoid or even another planet. Another theory states that these asteroids may have formed from the primordial material left over from the formation of the Solar System. The intense gravity of Jupiter may have prevented this material from coalescing into a planet. The asteroids in the asteroid belt range in size form just a few hundred feet to several miles.
Occasionally, some of these particles may come close enough to the Earth to get caught by its gravity. They may enter the atmosphere as meteors. If they survive the heat of entry and strike the ground, the will be referred to as meteorites. One such meteorite struck Russia injuring more than a thousand by it's shockwaves, the meteorite on the other hand broke to shambles Occasionally, some of these particles may come close enough to the Earth to get caught by its gravity. They may enter the atmosphere as meteors. If they survive the heat of entry and strike the ground, the will be referred to as meteorites. One such meteorite struck Russia injuring more than a thousand by it's shockwaves, the meteorite on the other hand broke to shambles
No comments:
Post a Comment