Asteroids and Meteoroids

17 Interesting Facts about…

By: Stephanie Rooke

Asteroids- How Far Apart are They in the Belt?

• Flying through the asteroid belt isn't dangerous (It's not at all like in the movies with a dense field of huge imposing spinning rocks). These asteroids are spread over such an enormously large amount of space that the chances of you hitting one would be extremely low.

Asteroids-How Where they Formed?

• During the beginning of the universe, two bodies would collide and stick together, eventually creating a planet or a asteroid (the only difference is that planets had more mass)

Asteroids- Accretion?

• The process that helped form the planets and asteroids is called accretion.

• Most asteroids are covered in a dust called regolith

Asteroid Dust?

Asteroids- Are Planets the only ones with moons?

• Space Craft Galileo proved that asteroids can also have moons when it flu past asteroid 243 Ida and discovered a moon dactyl

• Asteroids like to group together. There are four main groups that the asteroids are grouped in: the main belt, the Kuiper belt, Trojans, and the scattered disc.

Asteroids want friends too?

Meteoroids- How many?• There are hundreds of thousands of meteoroids

orbiting the sun

• When a meteor produces enough light to cast a shadow on the earth it is called a fireball.

Meteoroids- HOT! HOT! HOT!

• When a fireball explodes in the atmosphere, it is called a bolide.

Meteoroids- Kaboom!

• Meteors, in size, range from a grain of sand to a baseball.

Meteoroids- How Big?

• The largest meteors are sometimes broken bits of asteroids.

Meteoroids or Asteroids?

• Radiant is the direction or area that the meteor shower comes from.

Meteoroids-What is Radiant?

• The radiant of the Leonide meteor shower is located in the constellation of Leo.

Meteoroids- Leo vs. Leonide?

• Meteor streams are the particles left by comets in their orbit around the sun.

Meteor Streams?

• Meteor showers are created by cosmic debris that enter the earth's atmosphere at very high speeds.

Meteor Showers?

• There are about 9 annual meteor showers per year.

Meteoroids- How many?

• On any night, any location, a few meteors can be seen each hour.

Meteoroids- When Can you See Them?