When it passes by, the asteroid will be bright enough that small optical telescopes can be used to spot it in the night sky. Scientists around the world will also study the asteroid with telescopes to determine its composition and rotation and with radar that could reveal small surface features.
What are scientists unsure of about meteorites?
Answer: The correct answer to the question is that although scientists have studied meteorites and know that there are two major types, they are still unsure of the exact location from which they came . Explanation: ... When the piece makes into Earth, and hits the ground, they are known as Meteorites.
Which of the following is most useful to scientists in measuring the size of asteroids?
What is MOST useful to scientists in measuring the size of asteroids? The gravitational effect when spacecraft flies close to the asteroid .
What is the asteroids size compared to?
Asteroids range in size from Vesta – the largest at about 329 miles (530 kilometers) in diameter – to bodies that are less than 33 feet (10 meters) across. The total mass of all the asteroids combined is less than that of Earth’s Moon .
Which of the following best describes asteroids?
The Short Answer:
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the sun . Although asteroids orbit the sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets. There are lots of asteroids in our solar system. Most of them live in the main asteroid belt—a region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Why do scientists study asteroids?
Why Study Asteroids? The scientific interest in asteroids is due largely to their status as the remnant debris from the inner solar system formation process . Because some of these objects can collide with the Earth, asteroids are also important for having significantly modified the Earth’s biosphere in the past.
What’s the main reason that scientists study asteroids Brainpop?
What’s the main reason that scientists study asteroids? To better understand of the origins of the solar system .
What can we learn from meteorites?
The study of meteorites has helped us understand the beginnings of our solar system , how planets and asteroids formed and how impacts of large meteorites have altered Earth’s history and life on our planet.
What are the two basic types of meteorites?
There are two major types of stony meteorites: chondrites and achondrites . Chondrites themselves are classified into two major groups: ordinary and carbonaceous. Ordinary chondrites are the most common type of stony meteorite, accounting for 86 percent of all meteorites that have fallen to Earth.
What’s the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?
Like meteorites, meteors are objects that enter Earth’s atmosphere from space. But meteors—which are typically pieces of comet dust no larger than a grain of rice— burn up before reaching the ground . ... The term “meteorite” refers only to those bodies that survive the trip through the atmosphere and reach Earth’s surface.
How big was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs size comparison?
The asteroid believed responsible for the Cretaceous–Paleogene Extinction Event is estimated to have been between 10 and 15 kilometres (6 and 9 miles) across. A common comparison is that the asteroid would have been ‘ the size of Manhattan’ .
How big is the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs?
Known as the Chicxulub impactor, this large object has an estimated width of 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) and produced a crater in Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula that spans 90 miles (145 kilometers).
How big of an asteroid would it take to destroy the earth?
From the amount and distribution of iridium present in the 65-million-year-old “iridium layer”, the Alvarez team later estimated that an asteroid of 10 to 14 km (6 to 9 mi) must have collided with Earth.
What are two common characteristics of asteroids?
Nearly all asteroids are irregularly shaped , although a few of the largest are nearly spherical, such as Ceres. They are often pitted or cratered — for instance, Vesta has a giant crater some 285 miles (460 km) in diameter. The surfaces of most asteroids are thought to be covered in dust.
Which of the following best describes the comet’s motion?
Which of the following best describes a comet’s motion? They stay in relatively the same place until they fade from sight.
Are asteroids slower than stars?
Asteroids move much slower and less frequently than stars . The asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter and contains thousands of asteroids. The largest identified asteroid is Ceres and is about three times the size of the Moon.
