Name: Anonymous Date: August 20, 2019

Section: Grade 8 – St. Dominic Activity No: 3

Performance Task
in Science
“Asteroids”
 101955 Bennu

An ancient relic of our solar system’s early days, Bennu has seen more than 4.5 billion years of history. The best
evidence suggests that within 10 million years of our solar system’s formation, Bennu’s present-day chemistry and
mineralogy were already established. Because its materials are so old, Bennu represents a type of building block of
our solar system’s rocky planets. It may even contain organic molecules similar to those that could have played a
role in the start of life on Earth.

10199 Chariklo

Chariklo was the first asteroid found to have a ring system. It was the fifth ring system found in our solar system—
after Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

With a diameter of about 188 miles (302 kilometers), Chariklo is the largest member of an asteroid class known as
the Centaurs. It orbits between Saturn and Uranus in the outer solar system.

In 2013, scientists pointed several telescopes at the small world to study it as it passed in front of a star - an
occultation—and were surprised to detect two distinct rings. By comparing what was seen from different sites the
team could reconstruct not only the shape and size of
the object itself but also the shape, width, orientation and
other properties of the newly discovered rings. The
rings are believed to be between two and four miles (3-7
kilometers) wide.
 16 Psyche

One of the most intriguing targets in the main asteroid belt, 16 Psyche is a giant metal asteroid, about three times
farther away from the sun than is the Earth. Its average diameter is about 140 miles (226 kilometers) — about one-
sixteenth the diameter of Earth’s Moon or about the distance between Los Angeles and San Diego. Unlike most
other asteroids that are rocky or icy bodies, scientists think the M-type (metallic) asteroid 16 Psyche is comprised
mostly of metallic iron and nickel similar to Earth’s core. Scientists wonder whether Psyche could be an exposed
core of an early planet, maybe as large as Mars, that lost its rocky outer layers due to a number of violent collisions
billions of years ago.

243 Ida

243 Ida is the second asteroid visited by a spacecraft and the first found to have its own moon.

Its close encounter happened on Aug. 29, 1993 as Galileo flew by at a distance of about 1,500 miles (about 2,400
kilometers) en route to Jupiter. (The spacecraft flew by another asteroid, Gaspra, on Oct. 29, 1991.) A little more
than five months later, scientists studying the images Galileo sent back to Earth noticed that a tiny moon
accompanied the asteroid.

Located in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ida is one of the Koronis family of asteroids, which are thought
to be the debris of an ancient collision between two larger objects. It is covered in craters and a deep layer of
regolith (pulverized rock).

Ida is an S-type asteroid, composed mainly of silicate

rock. This type of asteroid dominates the inner region
of the asteroid belt, but comprises only about 17
percent of all known asteroids.
 433 Eros

433 Eros was discovered on Aug. 13, 1898 by Gustav Witt, director of the Urania observatory in Berlin, and
independently on the same day by Auguste H.P. Charlois at Nice, France.

Witt's discovery was the accidental byproduct of a two-hour photographic exposure he conducted of a different
asteroid: 185 Eunike. Along with Eunike, the image he produced showed a 0.4-mm image trail, and observations on
the following evening identified the object as one of unusually high apparent motion on the sky. Less than two
weeks later, Adolf J. Berberich computed that the object's orbit brought it well inside the orbit of Mars, making it
the first-known near-Earth asteroid.

4 Vesta

4 Vesta’s discoverer, Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers, gave the honor of naming the new asteroid to German
mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss, who had computed its orbit. Gauss named it Vesta after the goddess of the
hearth and household in Roman mythology. 4 Vesta is the second most massive body in the main asteroid belt,
accounting for almost nine percent of the total mass of all asteroids. Only dwarf planet Ceres is more massive in
that region of rocky debris between Mars and Jupiter. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft circled Vesta from July 16, 2011
until Sept. 5, 2012, when it departed and began its journey to dwarf planet Ceres.

The giant asteroid is almost spherical, and so is

nearly classified a dwarf planet. Unlike most known
asteroids, Vesta has separated into crust, mantle and
core (a characteristic known as being differentiated),
much like Earth.
 25143 Itokawa

25143 Itokawa was discovered Sept. 26, 1998 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro,
New Mexico. In 2005, 25143 Itokawa became the first asteroid from which samples were captured and brought to Earth
for analysis. The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa (Japanese for falcon) touched down twice on the asteroid and collected a
small amount of dust despite the failure of the mechanism designed for the purpose. It delivered the sample to Earth on 13
June 2010.

253 Mathilde

Nineteenth-century Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa, who found more than 100 asteroids during his career, discovered
253 Mathilde on November 12, 1885. V. A. Lebeuf, another Austrian astronomer, first calculated its orbit.

253 Mathilde is an asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, where it orbits the Sun once every 4.3 years. It's
about 52 kilometers across, and notable for its very slow rotation rate--it takes 17.4 days for the asteroid to turn on its
axis.
 

”Comets”
 Comet 103P/Hartley (Hartley 2

Hartley 2 was discovered by Malcolm Hartley on Mar. 15, 1986 using the Schmidt Telescope at the Siding Spring
Observatory in Australia.Comet 103P/Hartley (Hartley 2) is a small, oval (or peanut) shaped comet -- its nucleus
measures approximately one mile (1.6 kilometers) in diameter. It takes Hartley 2 about 6.47 years to orbit the Sun
once. Hartley 2 last reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) in 2017.

109P/Swift-Tuttle
Comet Swift-Tuttle was discovered in 1862 independently by both Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle.

Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle takes 133 years to orbit the Sun once. Swift-Tuttle last reached perihelion (closest
approach to the Sun) in 1992 and will return again in 2125.

Swift-Tuttle is a large comet -- its nucleus is 16 miles (26 kilometers) across. (That is more than twice the size of
the object hypothesized to have led the demise of the
dinosaurs.)
 19P/Borrelly

Comet 19P/Borrelly was discovered by Alphonse Louis Nicolas Borrelly on Dec. 28, 1904 in Marseilles,
France.Resembling a chicken leg, the nucleus of comet 19P/Borrelly is small and measures approximately 2.98
miles (4.8 kilometers) in diameter. This is about a third of the size of the object hypothesized to have led to the
demise of the dinosaurs.

Borrelly orbits the Sun within the asteroid belt and is a member of the Jupiter-family. A Jupiter-family comet is
defined as having an orbital period of less than 20 years and one that has been modified by close passages with the
gas giant. It takes 6.85 years for this comet to orbit the Sun once. Borrelly last reached perihelion (closest approach
to the Sun) in 2015.

1P/Halley

Until the time of English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), comets were believed to make only one pass
through the solar system.

But in 1705, Halley used Isaac Newton's theories of gravitation and planetary motions to compute the orbits of
several comets. Halley found the similarities in the orbits of bright comets reported in 1531, 1607 and 1682 and he
suggested that the trio were actually a single comet making return trips. Halley correctly predicted the comet's
return in 1758-1759 — 16 years after his death — and history's first known "periodic" comet was later named in his
honor.

The comet has since been connected to ancient observations going back more than 2,000 years. It is featured in the
famous Bayeux tapestry, which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
 21P/Giacobini-Zinner

Comet Giacobini-Zinner was discovered on Dec. 20, 1900 by Michel Giacobini at the Nice Observatory in France.
The comet was later recovered by Ernst Zinner in 1913 (October 23).Comet 21P/ Giacobini-Zinner is a small comet
with a diameter of 1.24 miles (2 kilometers). This comet takes about 6.6 years to orbit the Sun once. The last time
comet Giacobini-Zinner reached perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) was on Feb. 11, 2012. The next perihelion
passage will be in 2018.

Each time that Giacobini-Zinner returns to the inner solar system its nucleus sprays ice and rock into space. This
debris stream results in an annual meteor shower: the Draconids, which take place each year in early October. The
Draconids radiate out of the northern constellation of Draco the dragon. Most years the shower is weak, and many
times very few meteors are seen. However, there are also Draconid meteor storms (sometimes called Giacobinid
meterors) on record. A meteor storm is observed when one thousand or more meteors are seen per hour at the
location of the observer. During its peak in 1933, 500 Draconid meteors were seen per minute in Europe. 1946 was
also a good year for the Draconids, where 50 -100 were seen per minute in the U.S.

2P/Encke

Comet 2P/Encke was first discovered by Pierre F. A. Mechain on Jan. 17, 1786. Other astronomers located this
comet in subsequent passages, but these sightings were not defined as the same comet until Johann Franz Encke
calculated its orbit.Comet 2P/Encke is a small comet. Its nucleus measures approximately 2.98 miles (4.8
kilometers) in diameter, which is about a third of the size of the object hypothesized to have led to the demise of the
dinosaurs.

It takes 3.30 years for Enke to orbit the sun once. Comet Encke has the shortest orbital period of any known comet
within our solar system. Encke last reached perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 2015.
 55P/Tempel-Tuttle

Comet Tempel-Tuttle was discovered twice independently—in 1865 and 1866 by Ernst Tempel and Horace Tuttle,
respectively.Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is a small comet―its nucleus measures only about 2.24 miles (3.6
kilometers) across. It takes Tempel-Tuttle 33 years to orbit the sun once. Tempel-Tuttle last reached perihelion
(closest approach to the sun) in 1998 and will return again in 2031.

The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Leonids meteor shower originate from
Tempel-Tuttle. This usually weak annual meteor shower takes place each November, and peaks mid-month. When
comets come around the sun, the dust they emit gradually spreads into a dusty trail around their orbits. Every year
the Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they
disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.

67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko

Discovered Oct. 22, 1969 at Alma-Ata Observatory, Russia. Klim Ivanovic Churyumov found an image of this
comet while examining a photographic plate of another comet (32P/Comas Solá) taken by Svetlana Ivanova
Gerasimenko on 11 September 1969.Comet 67P/ Churyumov-Gerasimenko made history as the first comet to be
orbited and landed upon by robots from Earth. The Rosetta spacecraft, carrying the Philae lander, rendezvoused
with this comet in August 2014 and to escorted it on its journey to the inner solar system and back out again.
Rosetta is a mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) for which NASA is providing key instruments and
support.

Churyumov-Gerasimenko loops around the Sun in an orbit that crosses those of Jupiter and Mars, approaching but
not reaching Earth's orbit. Like most Jupiter Family comets, it is thought to have fallen from the Kuiper Belt, a
region beyond Neptune's orbit, as a result of one or more collisions or gravitational tugs.
 81P/Wild (Wild 2)
Comet Wild 2 was discovered by Paul Wild on Jan. 6, 1978.81P/Wild (Wild 2) (Wild is pronounced vilt) is a small
comet with the shape of a flattened sphere and measures about 1.03 x 1.24 x 1.71 miles (1.65 x 2 x 2.75
kilometers). It takes Wild 2 nearly six and a half years (6.41) to orbit the Sun once. Wild 2 last reached perihelion
(closest approach to the Sun) in 2016.

Comet Wild 2 is known as a fresh periodic comet. Wild 2 orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, but it did not
always travel the course of its orbit here. Originally, this comet's orbit lay between that of Uranus and Jupiter. On
10 Sept. 10, 1974, gravitational interactions between this comet and the planet Jupiter pulled the comet's orbit into a
new shape. Paul Wild discovered this comet during its first revolution of the Sun on the new orbit.

Since Wild 2 is a fresh comet (it has not had as many orbits around the Sun at close quarters) it is an ideal specimen
for discovering more about the early solar system.

9P/Tempel 1

Comet Tempel 1 was discovered by Ernst Wilhelm Leberecht Tempel (more commonly known as Wilhelm
Tempel) on 3 Apr. 3, 1867.Comet 9P/Tempel 1 orbits the sun within the asteroid belt, which lies between the orbits
of Mars and Jupiter. Tempel 1 last reached perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 2016.Tempel 1 is a Jupiter-
family comet. A Jupiter-family comet is defined as having an orbital period of less than 20 years and one that has
been modified by close passages with the gas giant. It takes 5.56 years for Tempel 1 to orbit the sun once. However,
Tempel 1's orbit is changing slowly over time. When Tempel 1 was first discovered, its orbit measured 5.68 years.

Tempel 1 is a small comet. Its nucleus measures approximately 3.73 miles (6 kilometers) in diameter, which is
about half the size of the object hypothesized to have led to the demise of the dinosaurs.
 C/1861 G1 (Thatcher)

Comet Thatcher was discovered on Apr. 5, 1861 by A. E. Thatcher. It takes 415.5 years for comet C/1861 G1
Thatcher to orbit the sun once. Comet Thatcher last reached perihelion (closest approach to the sun) in 1861. Comet
Thatcher is a long period comet. Long period comets have orbital periods of 200 years or more.

When comets come around the sun, the dust they emit gradually spreads into a dusty trail around their orbits. Every
year the Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they
disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.

C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp)
Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) was discovered in July 23, 1995, independently, by both Alan Hale and Thomas
Bopp. Hale-Bopp was discovered at the amazing distance of 7.15 AU. One AU is equal to about 150 million km
(93 million miles). Also called the Great Comet of 1997, comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) is a large comet with a
nucleus measuring approximately 37 miles (60 kilometers) in diameter. This is about five times the size of the
object hypothesized to have led to the demise of the dinosaurs. Due to its large size, this comet was visible to the
naked eye for 18 months in 1996 and 1997.
 C/2013 A1 Siding Spring

Discovered Jan. 3, 2013 at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. On Oct. 19, 2014, The nucleus of
comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring missed Mars by about one-third of the distance between Earth and
Earth's moon or one-tenth the distance at which any identified comet has flown past Earth. That
presented a unique science opportunity for the five orbiting spacecraft and two rovers at the Red Planet.

The comet approached Mars almost head-on as the planet traveled on its own orbit around the Sun, so
they passed each other at an enormous velocity—some 35 miles (56 kilometers) per second. But the
comet had such a large coma that Mars traveled through high-speed dust and gas particles for hours.
The orbiting spacecraft took shelter behind Mars, but they also used their instruments two capture
information about a rare close interaction between a comet and a planet.

C/2012 S1 (ISON)

C/2012 S1 (ISON) bears the name of the night-sky survey program that discovered it, the International Scientific
Optical Network. ISON is a group of observatories in ten countries which have organized to detect, monitor, and
track objects in space. The network is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the
Russian Academy of Sciences.
 'Oumuamua

The first known interstellar object to visit our solar system, 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, was discovered Oct. 19, 2017
by the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS1 telescope, funded by NASA’s Near-Earth Object
Observations (NEOO) Program, which finds and tracks asteroids and comets in Earth’s neighborhood. While
originally classified as a comet, observations revealed no signs of cometary activity after it slingshotted past the
Sun on Sept. 9, 2017 at a blistering speed of 196,000 miles per hour (87.3 kilometers per second). It was briefly
classified as an asteroid until new measurements found it was accelerating slightly, a sign it behaves more like a
comet.

P/Shoemaker-Levy 9

Shoemaker-Levy 9 was discovered by

Carolyn and Gene Shoemaker and David Levy in a photograph taken on Mar. 18, 1993 with the 0.4-meter Schmidt
telescope at Mt. Palomar. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was captured by the gravity of Jupiter, torn apart and then
crashed into the giant planet in July 1994.

When the comet was discovered in 1993, it already had been torn into more than 20 pieces traveling around the
planet in a two year orbit. Further observations revealed the comet (believed to be a single body at the time) had
made a close approach to Jupiter in July 1992 and was torn apart by tidal forces resulting from planet's powerful
gravity. The comet was thought to have been orbiting Jupiter for about a decade before its demise.
 Meteors
&
Meteorites
 Quandrantids

The Quadrantids, which peak during early-January each year, are considered to be one of the best annual meteor
showers. Most meteor showers have a two day peak, which makes catching sight of these other meteors much more
possible. The Quadrantids peak, on the other hand, is much shorter—only a few hours. (The reason the peak is so
short is due to the shower's thin stream of particles and the fact that the Earth crosses the stream at a perpendicular
angle.) During its peak, 60 to as many as 200 Quadrantid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions.

Lyrids

The Lyrids, which peak during late April, are one of the oldest known meteor showers: Lyrids have been observed
for 2,700 years. (The first recorded sighting of a Lyrid meteor shower goes back to 687 BC by the Chinese.)

The Lyrids are known for their fast and bright meteors, though not as fast or as plentiful as the famous Perseids in
August, Lyrids can surprise watchers with as many as 100 meteors seen per hour. Sightings of these heavier
showers occurred in 1803 (Virginia), 1922 (Greece), 1945 (Japan), and 1982 (U.S.). In general, 10-20 Lyrid
meteors can be seen per hour during their peak.

Lyrids frequently leave glowing dust trains behind them as they streak through the Earth's atmosphere. These trains
can be observable for several seconds.
 Eta Aquarids

The Eta Aquarids peak during early-May each year. Eta Aquarid meteors are known for their speed. These meteors
are fast—traveling at about 148,000 mph (66 km/s) into Earth's atmosphere. Fast meteors can leave glowing
"trains" (incandescent bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes. In general,
30 Eta Aquarid meteors can be seen per hour during their peak.
The Eta Aquarids are viewable in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres during the pre-dawn hours. The
Southern Hemisphere is preferable for viewing the Eta Aquarids. The Northern Hemisphere has an hourly rate of
only about 10 meteors. This is due to the viewing location of the radiant from different latitudes. The constellation
of Aquarius—home to the radiant of the Eta Aquarids—is higher up in the sky in the Southern Hemisphere than it
is in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, Eta Aquarid meteors can more often be seen as
"earthgrazers." Earthgrazers are long meteors that appear to skim the surface of the Earth at the horizon.

Delta Aquariids

The Delta Aquariids are active beginning in mid-July and are visible until late-August. These faint meteors are
difficult to spot, and if there is a moon you will not be able to view them. If the moon is not present, your best
chance to see the Delta Aquariids is when meteor rates rise during the shower's peak at the end of July.

If you are unable to view the Delta Aquariids during their peak, look for them again during the Perseids in August:
You will know that you have spotted a Delta Aquarid if the meteor is coming from the direction of the constellation
Aquarius—its radiant will be in the southern part of the sky. The Perseid radiant is in the northern part of the sky.
 Perseids

The Perseids, which peak during mid-August, are considered the best meteor shower of the year. With very fast and
bright meteors, Perseids frequently leave long "wakes" of light and color behind them as they streak through Earth's
atmosphere. The Perseids are one of the most plentiful showers (50-100 meteors seen per hour) and occur with
warm summer nighttime weather, allowing sky watchers to easily view them.

Perseids are also known for their fireballs. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer
than an average meteor streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary
material. Fireballs are also brighter, with apparent magnitudes greater than -3.

Orionids

The Orionids, which peak during mid-October each year, are considered to be one of the most beautiful showers of
the year. Orionid meteors are known for their brightness and for their speed. These meteors are fast—they travel at
about 148,000 mph (66 km/s) into the Earth's atmosphere. Fast meteors can leave glowing "trains" (incandescent
bits of debris in the wake of the meteor) which last for several seconds to minutes. Fast meteors can also sometimes
become fireballs: Look for prolonged explosions of light when viewing the Orionid meteor shower.

The Orionids are also framed by some of the brightest stars in the night sky, which lend a spectacular backdrop for
theses showy meteors.
 Leonids

The Leonids, which peak during mid-November each year, are considered to be a major shower though meteor
rates are often as low as about 15 meteors per hour. The Leonids are bright meteors and can also be colorful. They
are also fast: Leonids travel at speeds of 44 miles (71 kilometers) per second, and are considered to be some of the
fastest meteors out there.

Every 33 years, or so, viewers on Earth may experience a Leonid storm that can peak with hundreds to thousands of
meteors seen per hour depending on the location of the observer.Leonids are also known for their fireballs and
earthgrazer meteors. Fireballs are larger explosions of light and color that can persist longer than an average meteor
streak. This is due to the fact that fireballs originate from larger particles of cometary material. 

Geminids

The Geminids, which peak during mid-December each year, are considered to be one of the best and most reliable
annual meteor showers. The Geminids did not start out that way. The Geminids first began appearing in the mid-
1800s. However, the first showers were not noteworthy with only 10 - 20 meteors seen per hour. Since that time,
the Geminids have grown to become one of the most major showers of the year. During its peak, 120 Geminid
meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions. The Geminids are bright and fast meteors and tend to be

yellow in color .