METEOROID, METEOR & METEORITE!

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METEOROID

 When fragments of an asteroid or a comet break off and float freely in the space, they are called meteoroids
 Some meteoroids are also believed to have come from Mars or moon
 Meteoroids could be large enough tens of meters across or could be as small as pebbles
 Most of the meteoroids are attracted by Earth’s gravitational influence
 As long as this fragment is floating freely in space and does not enter the Earth’s atmosphere, it is called a
meteoroid

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METEOR

 When a meteoroid (of whatever origin, comet or asteroid) enters Earth’s atmosphere, it is called a meteor
 It interacts with Earth’s atmosphere, and lights up due to friction - phenomenon called shooting star

Why do meteors light up after entering Earth’s Atmosphere?

 Meteors travel at very high speeds often reaching 20 Km/s or 72000miles/hour which is almost twice the speed of
a bullet leaving its barrel. A meteor with this velocity, cutting through the atmosphere, creates frictional heating
resulting in luminosity and hence, the shooting star!

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EXAMPLES OF METEORS

 Chelyabinsk Meteor Incident

 Meteor showers from Comets
 Recent meteor spotted in the skies of Chile

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METEORITE

 Meteors light upon entering Earth’s atmosphere and most of the times their mass is consumed before it can reach
Earth’s surface
 Sometimes the mass is not consumed fast enough and the meteor ends up hitting Earth. As soon as a meteor hits
the ground, it is called a meteorite
 A small meteorite goes unnoticed, but a large one can be disastrous

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FAMOUS EXAMPLES OF METEORITES

 Arizona USA Meteor Crater

 South Africa’s Vredefort Crater
 Tunguska Incidence - The most scariest asteroid crash ever witnessed in Siberia 1908

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THEORY ABOUT EARTH’S OCEANS

 It was long thought that Earth’s water did not originate from the planet’s
 There is also evidence that water was delivered to Earth by impacts from icy planetesimals /comets which hit

the Earth as meteorites and water was stored in the craters taking the shape of oceans

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THANK YOU!