Astronomy                 Natural Science 1001

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Astronomy
Meteorology
Geology

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Astronomy
Meteorology
Geology

Asteroids   [p. 340-344]    

• What do they look like?
• What are they made of?
• Where are they?
• What happens in the asteroid belt today?
• Why is there an asteroid belt?
  --Describe orbital resonance    Explanation D2L
  --What evidence do we have that Jupiter's gravity affects the asteroid belt?     Explanation D2L
• Videos
  --NEAR flyby   1 min
  --video  7 sec  asteroid among stars
  --video  discovering asteroids last 30 years    5 min
  --video  asteroid belt on edge    30 sec
  --video  asteroids, orbital resonance, including Trojans    1 min
  --research video  1 min double asteroid
  --research video  3 min DAWN mission
  --research video  2 min DAWN at Vesta
  --research video  2 min DAWN at Ceres
  --Dawn mission summary
  --YouTube about Asteroid belt
  --1+ hr lecture

Meteorites   [p. 344-347]     

• What are they?
• What are meteorites like?
• Where do they come from?
• Describe primitive meteorites and processed meteorites.
  --How are they similar and different?
  --What would the parent object of a primitive meteorite be like?
  --What would the parent object of a processed meteorite be like?
• How do we know the age of a primitive meteorite?
• Links
    --Meteorites from Antarctica
    --Buying meteorites (one site)
• Videos
  --Meteorite passes by skydiver
  --How to find a Meteorite   6 min
  --How to identify a meteorite   8 min
  

Comets       [section 12.2  p. 347-353]     Explanation D2L

• Describe the composition of a comet planetesimal
• Components
  --Describe the nucleus
  --Describe the coma
      --Why do we see the coma?
  --Describe the dust tail
     --What causes the dust tail?
     --Why do we see the dust tail?
  --Describe the ion tail
     --What causes the ion tail?
     --Why do we see the ion tail?
  --Which way do comet tails point?
• What happens to comets eventually?
• Where do icy planetesimals exist?
  -- Oort cloud--describe
  -- Kuiper belt--describe
• Comets from the Oort cloud--describe
  --How do their orbits get changed?
• Comets from the Kuiper belt--describe
  -- How do their orbits get changed?
• Section 12.3 is an interesting read about Pluto and other large Kuiper Belt objects.
• Videos
  --video  1 min   How was Pluto named?
  --research video  3 min Comet paths from SOHO
  --research video  5 min Rosetta mission
  --research video  4 sec  Deep Impact hits comet nucleus
  --research video  20 sec Kuiper belt objects
  --research video  2 min New Horizons
  --research video  1 min  What's inside Pluto?
  --research video  1 min  New Horizons after Pluto
  --research article and video  Haumea

Meteors and meteor showers   [p. 351]

• Meteors
  --What is a meteor?
  --What do we see?
  --Link Meteor FAQ
• Meteor showers
  --Describe a meteor shower
  --What is a meteor shower composed of?
  --Why do we have meteor showers?
  --Why is the best time to see a meteor shower for a few hours after midnight?
  --Link American Meteor Society

Impacts with the Earth    [section 12.4 is interesting reading]

• Will the Earth get hit by a large object in the future?
• Links
    --Earth Impact Effects Program--what would happen if huge object hit the Earth?
    --Earth Impact database--Where on the Earth have we found evidence of impacts?
    --Chelyabinsk video compilation