Other members of Solar System Flashcards
Astronomy
the scientific study of any celestial objects like stars, planets and the likes; as well as all phenomenon in the universe.
Cosmology
is a branch of astronomy that involves the origin and evolution of the universe.
Non-planet members
- Asteroids
- Meteors
- Comets
ASTEROIDS
- solid, rocky-metallic
and irregularly shaped objects in the space - Aster=star, -oid=rock or planet
- diameter ranges from 50mm-1000km
Largest known asteroid
Ceres
The second most massive celestial
body found in the asteroid belt.
Vesta
ASTEROID BELT
area with high concentration of asteroids;
found between Mars and Jupiter
Classification of Asteroids according to composition
- S type
- C type
- M type
S type
- also known as Bright-S
silicaceous - made up of
silicate of iron and
magnesium - found in the inner belt
- 17% of known asteroids
C type
- also known as dark C
carbonaceous - mostly
hydrogen - found in the outer belt
- 75% of known asteroids
M type
- also known as bright M
metallic - composed of metallic iron
- found in the middle belt
- 8%
Classification of Asteroids according to orbit
- Near earth asteroids
- Trojan (within jupiter’s orbit)
Comets
- Came from the Greek word
kome or komete, meaning long
haired. - Small, icy objects that orbit the sun
and has a long tail of gas.
Parts of a Comet
- Nucleus
- Coma
- Tail
Nucleus
- main body of the comet;
- composed of rocky or metallic material together with frozen water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide (ices)
Coma
- halo of gas that surrounds nucleus
- It is formed when the comet comes close enough to
the Sun.
Tail
- the solar radiation and the solar wind push the coma and create the tail.
- Ion tail – sublimation of frozen gases
- Dust tail – tiny dust particles from the nucleus
Short term comet
can orbit the sun in
less than 200 years
Long term comet
takes 30 million yrs to
orbit the sun
How to name comets
- Named by year
- Named after people
- Investigators
Halley’s comet
- PERIODIC COMET
- returns to Earth’s vicinity
about every 76 years. - The last time it was
here was in 1986, and
it is projected to
return in 2062
Meteoroids
- much smaller that asteroids,
actual debris of an asteroid/comets - what we call “space rocks”
that range in size from dust grains to small
asteroids.
Meteors
known colloquially as a shooting star or falling star , term used for meteoroid that already entered the earth atmosphere
Meteorites
term used for meteor that has already hit or reach the earth’s
surface
Three Types of Meteorites
Iron (metallic)
Stony (rocky)
Stony iron
