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Meteoroid
PREPARED BY:
Mohd Zakwan
Aamirul Ashraf
What Is Meteoroid?
A meteoroid is a sand- to boulder-sized particle of
debris in the Solar System
Meteoroid is also known as:
•Meteor • Meteorite
•Fireball
•Bolide
•Meteoric
dust
Meteor
A meteor is the visible streak of light that occurs
when a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere
Meteors typically occur in the mesosphere, and most
range in altitude from 75 km to 100 km.
Millions of meteors occur in the Earth's atmosphere
every day.
Many meteors appearing seconds or minutes apart are
called a meteor shower.
Fireball
A fireball is a brighter-than-usual meteor.
Stony meteorites
Stony-iron meteorites
Iron meteorites
Most meteoroids are destroyed when they enter the
Meteoric dust
atmosphere
The left-over debris is called meteoric dust or just
meteor dust.
Meteor dust particles can persist in the atmosphere
for up to several months.
These particles might affect climate, both by
scattering electromagnetic radiation and by catalyzing
chemical reactions in the upper atmosphere.
Ionization trails
During the entry of a meteoroid into the upper
atmosphere, an ionization trail is created.
The molecules in the upper atmosphere are ionized by
the passage of the meteor. Such ionization trails can last
up to 45 minutes at a time.
Small, sand-grain sized meteoroids are entering the
atmosphere constantly, essentially every few seconds in
any given region of the atmosphere, and thus ionization
trails can be found in the upper atmosphere more or less
continuously. When radio waves are bounced off these
trails, it is called meteor burst communications.
The Colour
The visible light produced by a meteor may take on
various hues, depending on the chemical composition of
the meteoroid, and its speed through the atmosphere.
As layers of the meteoroid are stripped off and ionized,
the colour of the light emitted may change according to
the layering of minerals.
Some of the possible colours and the compounds
responsible for them are: orange/yellow (sodium);
yellow (iron); blue/green (copper); lilac (potassium);
and red (silicate).
Notable meteorite
Peekskill meteorite
The Peekskill meteorite broke up over the United States on
October 9, 1992, an event witnessed by thousands across
the East Coast. The meteorite broke up over Kentucky and
damaged a parked Chevrolet Malibu in Peekskill, New
York on impact. Major cities like Pittsburgh witnessed the
bright meteorite. The meteorite travelled northeast and
had a pronounced greenish colour. The meteorite has been
captured on 16 different videos and remains as one of the
most famous meteorite sightings.
Peekskill Meteorite
References :
Internet
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_shower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/meteoroid
NASA
www.nasa.gov/worldbook/meteor_worldbook.html
Books
Astronomy Today
-by Chaisson McMillan
Pathways to Astronomy
-by Stephen E. Schneider & Thomas T. Arny
Astronomy : A Beginner’s Guide to the Universe
-by Chaisson McMillan
THAT’S ALL