Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors PDF Author: Ron Miller
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0761372792
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we’ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.

Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

Seven Wonders of Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors PDF Author: Ron Miller
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 0761372792
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 84

Get Book Here

Book Description
From earliest times, humans have wondered about the sky above them and have studied all visible objects. People began to identify differences between stars and planets, and as technology advanced with telescopes and space probes, they sought deeper understanding of the millions of bits of debris rocketing through the solar system. Scientists determined that most of these objects are left over from the creation of the planets and their moons. They classified these leftovers into categories such as asteroids, comets, and meteors. In this book, we'll explore seven wonders of asteroids, comets, and meteors. Ceres is a huge mountain-sized asteroid that orbits with other asteroids between Mars and Jupiter. Other marvels include Ganymede, the largest asteroid in the group called Earthgrazers or Near-Earth Objects, and Halley's comet, a ball of ice, that passes Earth every seventy-five or so years. We'll also explore the amazing impact that space debris can have on planets and moons. The Borealis Basin, a wondrous crater more than 5,000 miles across, formed when an asteroid collided with Mars in the ancient past. Then we will travel to the far-off Kuiper belt, where as many as 200 million icy bodies orbit, and wonder at the mystery of planetlike objects, such as Pluto and Charon. Finally, we’ll can experience a space wonder firsthand by standing outside on a night in August to watch the spectacular Perseid meteor shower fill the sky.

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids PDF Author: Tom Gehrels
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
ISBN: 9780816515059
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1340

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Book Description
In 1993, the U.S. Department of Defense declassified information dealing with frequent explosions in the upper atmosphere caused by meteoric impact. It is estimated that impacts have occurred of a magnitude equivalent to the atomic bomb detonated at Hiroshima. Not all such space voyagers meet their end in the atmosphere, however; huge craters attest to the bombardment of earth over millions of years, and a major impact may have resulted in the extinction of dinosaurs. An impact in Siberia near the beginning of this century proves that such events are not confined to geologic time. Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids marks a significant step in the attempt to come to grips with the threats posed by such phenomena. It brings together more than one hundred scientists from around the world, who draw on observational and theoretical research to focus on the technical problems related to all aspects of dealing with these hazards: searching for and identifying hazardous comets and asteroids; describing their statistics and characteristics; intercepting and altering the orbits of dangerous objects; and applying existent technologies—rocket boosters, rendezvous and soft-landing techniques, instrumentation—to such missions. The book considers defensive options for diverting or disrupting an approaching body, including solar sails, kinetic-energy impacts, nuclear explosives, robotic mass drivers, and various propulsion systems. A cataclysmic impact posing a threat to life on Earth is a possibility that tomorrow's technology is capable of averting. This book examines in depth the reality of the threat and proposes practical measures that can be initiated now should we ever need to deal with it.

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors PDF Author: Dennis B. Fradin
Publisher: Children's Press(CT)
ISBN: 9780516017235
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
Describes in simple terms the meteors, comets, and asteroids that are part of our solar system and discusses the various theories concerning their origin and their effect on life on Earth.

Primitive Meteorites and Asteroids

Primitive Meteorites and Asteroids PDF Author: Neyda M. Abreu
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0128133260
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 560

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Book Description
Primitive Meteorites and Asteroids: Physical, Chemical, and Spectroscopic Observations Paving the Way to Exploration covers the physical, chemical and spectroscopic aspects of asteroids, providing important data and research on carbonaceous chondrites and primitive meteorites. This information is crucial to the success of missions to parent bodies, thus contributing to an understanding of the early solar system. The book offers an interdisciplinary perspective relevant to many fields of planetary science, as well as cosmochemistry, planetary astronomy, astrobiology, geology and space engineering. Including contributions from planetary and missions scientists worldwide, the book collects the fundamental knowledge and cutting-edge research on carbonaceous chondrites and their parent bodies into one accessible resource, thus contributing to the future of space exploration. - Presents the most current data and information on the mission-relevant characteristics of primitive asteroids - Addresses the physical, chemical and spectral characteristics of carbonaceous chondritic meteorites and the bearings on successful exploration of their parent asteroids - Includes chapters on geotechnical properties and resource extraction

Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazards on a Populated Earth

Comet and Asteroid Impact Hazards on a Populated Earth PDF Author: John S. Lewis
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 9780124467606
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Disk contains: HAZARDS version 5.5, designed to predict asteroid or comet impacts with the Earth.

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors

Asteroids, Comets and Meteors PDF Author: Rosalind Mist
Publisher: QED Publishing
ISBN: 9781845389666
Category : Asteroids
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"An introduction to asteroids, comets, and meteors, including what they are made of, where they are, and how they interact with other bodies of the solar system"--Provided by publisher.

Catching Stardust

Catching Stardust PDF Author: Natalie Starkey
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472944038
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
'Astonishing' - New Scientist Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants. Exploring comets and asteroids also allows us to shape the story of Earth's future, enabling us to protect our precious planet from the threat of a catastrophic impact from space, and maybe to even recover valuable raw materials from them. This cosmic bounty could be as useful in space as it is on Earth, providing the necessary fuel and supplies for humans as they voyage into deep space to explore more distant locations within the Solar System. Catching Stardust tells the story of these enigmatic celestial objects, revealing how scientists are using them to help understand a crucial time in our history – the birth of the Solar System, and everything contained within it.

The Lonely Existence of Asteroids and Comets

The Lonely Existence of Asteroids and Comets PDF Author: Mark Weakland
Publisher: Capstone
ISBN: 1429675462
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33

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Book Description
"In graphic novel format, explores asteroids and comets, including their formation, differences, and impact on life on Earth"--

Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids

Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids PDF Author: Seymour Simon
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780439051491
Category : Asteroids
Languages : en
Pages : 36

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Book Description
Explores how comets, meteors, and asteroids move through our solar system, and explains the ingredients that make a comet's tail and other topics.

Pluto's Secret

Pluto's Secret PDF Author: Margaret Weitekamp
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1613124961
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto’s Secret explains the true story of this distant world. Providing a history of the small, icy world from its discovery and naming to its recent reclassification, this book presents a fascinating look at how scientists organize and classify our solar system as they gain new insights into how it works and what types of things exist within it. The book includes a glossary and bibliography. Praise for Pluto's Secret "Pairing a lighthearted narrative in a hand-lettered†“style typeface with informally drawn cartoon illustrations, this lively tale of astronomical revelations begins with the search for Planet X.†? —Kirkus Reviews "This picture book offers a fresh, positive perspective on Pluto, showing that its change of status is not a demotion but a correction." —Booklist "Light-hearted imagining of a gregarious Pluto.†? —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Fun reading... The book provides a factual history of our faraway 'dwarf,' and on its companion icy worlds, and on the discovery of Kuiper-like bands around other stars." —School Library Journal Award New York Public Library’s annual Children’s Books list: 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2013