Meteorites By Shaymus

What are Meteorites ?

• Meteorites are rocks from space which approach the Earth and enters it’s atmosphere, and it doesn't completely burn up before landing on the surface, The Solar System is where most meteorites are found. Most Meteorites are fragments from the astro belt that's between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. Meteorites formed about 4,500 million years ago, the same time as our Solar System and Earth, some meteorites are younger and they come from Mars, some even come from the Moon

What effects do they have on Earth ?

• Sine Earth was formed meteorites have been colliding with it. Some of the impacts have caused major extinctions of like forms, and you can see some of the crater impacts on the crust of the Earth. There are about 25 impact caters in Australia which are preserved.

Meteorites travel at more than 11km per second as it enters the earths atmosphere causing frictional heat. The heat causes a fire ball in the higher atmosphere. Small meteorites burp up before it enters the Earth atmosphere.

Meteorites that are seen falling are called falls and they get collected straight away. When meteorites are left in the water for a long time eventually turn into soil.

How do you identify and classify a Meteorites ?

• Meteorites contain the same minerals as a normal rock but the proportions and textures are different to the ones on Earth. The three groups of meteorites are stony, iron and stony-iron. Stony meteorites are millimetre-sized spheres also known as chondrites. Meteorites are named after where they are found. The name and location is sent to a international committee , and if approved they are entered into a international catalogue. The y provide scientists with clues about the Solar System, planets and Earth. They are worth a lot of money.

Are meteorite protected ?

• In Australia the laws for meteorites make it illegal to export without a permit. In Western Australia and South Australia the laws state that meteorites are owned by the government and must be known to the appropriate museum in other states it’s finders keepers.

Bibliography

• www.museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/meteorites

Dedications

• Id like to thank everyone for watching my meteorites Power Point Presentation, I hope you enjoyed it!