Prelude
Meteorites and meteors have long fascinated those fortunate enough to find or witness them. One reason we study meteorites is to determine the nature and origin of their parent bodies. Most likely come from various asteroids, but some were blasted off the surfaces of the Moon and even Mars by giant impacts. We can also use the compositions of some meteorites to describe the composition of the Solar Nebula that formed at the beginning of the history of our Solar System. Asteroids are part of the countless number of small objects traveling about in our Solar System. We have only recently begun to explore these objects in detail, including a host of spacecraft missions (NEAR Shoemaker, Dawn, Hayabusa, OSIRIS-rEX, etc.). Another reason we study meteorites and asteroids is that their impacts can have devastating local, regional, and global consequences to life on the surface of our planet.
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Figure 5-1. Asteroids and meteorites, big and small. At left, 951 Gaspra is about 18 km in length and was the first asteroid to be imaged close up (by the Galileo spacecraft in 1992). The NWA 10303 ordinary chondrite, a meteorite find from northwest Africa (right). Remember to click on the highlighted images to see larger images. |
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What Will You Do Today?
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Learn about different types of asteroids and meteorites and their impact effects |
A. Asteroids - Review the facts about asteroids and where they live
B. Meteorite Basics - Review a few basics about meteorites and how they are classified
C. Impact! - Learn what happens during a meteorite impact and what kind of craters form as a result
D. "Meteor" Crater - Explore Earth's most well-preserved impact crater, Barringer Meteorite Crater