Meteoroids – Space

Rocks
Meteoroids
• Fragments of rocky
material with similar
composition as the
terrestrial planet
• < 100 m
• Micrometeoroids – cosmic
dust
• Not visible except perhaps
for the larger one ad only
through a powerful
telescope
Meteoroids
• Once a meteoroid enters the atmosphere, it heats
up due to friction
• It partially disintegrates, and produces tail of debris
that glows because of heat
• Meteor (shooting star) – their visible glowing tail
• Fireballs – meteor that appear to glow brighter
than planets, and called “bolides” when they
explode
• Meteorite – already reached the earth’s surface
Meteorites in the Philippines
• Bondoc meteorite – largest, named after Bondoc
Peninsula in Quezon Provice
• Brought to Bureau of Mines thinking it was a
sample of iron ore
• 1959, Harvey Ninninger
• The piece recovered has a mass of 888.6 kg
• Meteorite Museum, Arizona, USA
Let’s Wrap Up
• Asteroids – smaller than planet but larger than
meteoroids, and they orbit around the sun

• Comets – made up of ice, rocks, and dust; they have

long orbital period

• Meteoroids – are space rocks and debris that are

fragments of comets and asteroids

Meteor – visible glowing tail

Meteorite – term for meteoroid that landed on
Earth’s surface