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Welcome to Science 12/13/10
• Open your books to page 557-561 and use these pages to begin completing the outline you just received.
• Today’s Schedule
• 1. Schedule for the week
• 2. Science Folder/Notes Organized
• 3. Question of the Day
• 4. Discussion on Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors
Science Folder/Notes• These items should be in your Science Folder
and should be studied for Friday’s Test 5 Key Concepts Paper• Big Bang Theory/Solar System Flow Chart• Sun Packet• Planet Packet• Comets, Asteroids, & Meteoroids Packet• Life Beyond Earth Packet• Word Wall List
Question of the Day• What is most likely the object that hit Earth in
the picture below? A comet, asteroid, meteoroid, meteor, or meteorite?
• Most likely it was an asteroid
• Why study comets, asteroids, & meteoroids.
• Because they threaten the existence of life on Earth
• Ultra Science: Hitting Earth :
Comets• What is a comet?
• Small body of ice, dust, and small rocky particles packed together that orbit the sun. “dirty snowballs”
• Where do they come
from?
• Cold outer solar system.
• Oort Cloud & Kuiper Belt
Why are comets important?
• Comets are made of the “leftovers” from the process of planet formation.
• Each comet is a sample of the early solar system.
A Comet’s Tail When a comet passes close to the sun, the
heat from the sun evaporates the water in the comet creating a tail of gas and dust.
Comet Orbits• Like the planets, comets also orbit the sun in an
ellipse.
• A comet’s tail will point away from the sun as it gets closer to the sun.
• Interactive Comet Animation
Asteroids• Large rocky objects that orbit the sun between
Mars & Jupiter (asteroid belt)
• Like comets, asteroids are the leftovers from the formation of the solar system.
Meteoroids• Meteoroid- small chunk of rock or dust. Could
be a piece of a comet or asteroid
• Meteor- meteoroid that enters Earth’s atmosphere & creates a streak (shooting star)
• Meteorite- meteor that hits Earth’s surface
Impact of Asteroids & Meteoroids• The main theory on the extinction of the
dinosaurs is that it was caused by an asteroid strike.
• Could an asteroid hit again? • Yes• Will it happen again?• Yes • When will it happen?• 2014 & 2021 Possibly• Ultra Science: Hitting Earth : Bad Universe: Asteroid Impact SimulationWatch The Asteroid Threat: