Today Phil helps keep you from ticking off an astronomer in your life by making sure you know the difference between a meteor, meteorite, and meteoroid. When the Earth plows through the stream emitted by a comet we get a meteor shower. Meteors burn up about 100 km above the Earth, but some survive to hit the ground. Most of these meteorites are rocky, some are metallic, and a few are a mix of the two. Very big meteorites can be a very big problem, but there are plans in the works to prevent us from going the way of the dinosaurs.
Meteorite Links:
Aerolite Meteorites, Inc.: http://www.aerolite.org/
Big Kahuna Meteorites: http://bigkahuna-meteorites.com/
Arizona Skies Meteorites: http://www.arizonaskiesmeteorites.com/
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Table of Contents
What Meteors Are 0:59
Meteor Shower 4:22
What Meteors Are Made Of 7:10
Very Big Meteorites Can Be a Very Big Problem 8:36
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PHOTOS/VIDEOS
Shooting star http://dakotalapse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/IMG_5555-reboot1.jpg [credit: Randy Halverson / Dakotalapse.com]
Cosmic Fireball Falling Over ALMA http://www.eso.org/public/usa/images/potw1414a/ [credit: ESO / Christoph Malin]
Meteor light https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/704204_406950402710734_1157020008_o.jpg [credit: Randy Halverson / Dakotalapse.com]
Bolide 10/16/14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZXqmPhd8AQ [credit: reddit user -545-]
Meteor Video http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010700/a010747/10747_Swift_Asteroid_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov [credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center]
Orbit Video http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004100/a004159/209PLINEAR-swingAround.slate.HD1080.mp4 [credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio]
When Gemini Sends Stars to Paranal http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3003955 [credit: Stephane Guisard]
Perseid below space station http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1208/iss028e024847perseid.jpg [credit: NASA]
Geminids shower http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/12/15/geminids_meteor_shower_photo.html [credit: Neil Zeller]
Cygnus Reentry http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/08/18/fireball_astronauts_photograph_cygnus_resupply_ship_burning_up.html [credit: ESA/NASA]
Stony meteorite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AllendeMeteorite.jpg [credit: Wikimedia Commons, H. Raab]
Iron meteorite http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nickel-iron_meteorite_fragment,_5.5_billion_years_old,_found_near_Flagstaff_AZ_-_Franklin_Institute_-_DSC06707.JPG [credit: Wikimedia Commons, Daderot]
Stony iron meteorite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallasite#/media/File:Bernham_meteorite_sept_2010.JPG [credit: Wikimedia Commons, Supportstorm]
Chondrites http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allende_meteorite,_carbonaceous_chondrite_(14787764392).jpg [credit: Wikimedia Commons, James St. John]
Pallasite https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/14608975850/ [credit: James St. John]
Aftermath of Chelyabinsk Meteor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9KwK0izt5c [credit: NASA]
Near-Earth asteroid 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPsQdEHyPU [credit: Gianluca Masi, permission granted by author]
Dinosaur drawing courtesy of Zach Weiner of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=1535
