meteorites: visitors from space the open university
TRANSCRIPT
Meteorites: Visitors from Space
The Open University
What is a Meteorite?A meteorite is a natural object that
survives its fall to Earth from Space
Hoba Meteorite, Namiba
Largest Known Meteorite
60 tons, fell ~80,000 years ago
Chelyabinsk, Russia 15th February 2013
Size of a big house!
Speed: 40,000 mph
London to Edinburgh in 36 seconds!
Blast altitude: 15 to 20 km
1,500 people injured, 4000 buildings damaged
Power of blast = about 20 small nuclear bombs
Chelyabinsk Meteorite
Chicxulub Impact 66 Million years ago10-15 km asteroid
The only recorded casualties!
Nakhla – Egypt 1911 Valeria – Venezuela 1972
So are meteorites dangerous?
NoBut they are fun!
Where are
meteoritescolle
cted?
We have about 50,000 Meteorites
34,000 from Antarctica
16,000 from the rest of the World
About 10,000 from North Africa
What do they look like and how can I spot one?
Meteorite Types
• 1. Stones– Chondriteshondrites
• 2. Stony Irons– Mesosiderites
• 3. Irons
Meteorite Types
1. Stones
• 2. Stony Irons– Pallasit
• 3. Irons
Meteorite Types
2. Stony Irons
• 3. Irons
Meteorite Types
3. Irons
Where do meteorites come from
Where do meteorites come from
The Moon Mars
The Asteroid Belt
Apollo Missions 382 kg Moon Rocks
How to Plan a Space Mission
• Stage 1. Where are you going?
• Stage 2. You need a team
• Stage 3. You need a name
• Stage 4. You need a map
• Stage 5. How long is it going to take?
• Stage 6. Do you hire some astronauts?
• Stage 7. What sort of spacecraft do you want?
• Stage 8. Now you can design your spacecraft.
• Stage 9. Choose your instruments.
• Stage 10. What do you hope to learn about your destination?