| Comets, Meteors, & Asteroids |
Important clues to the origins of the solar system come from asteroids, comets and meteors, believed to be remnants from the early solar system. Until the early 1990s, the only information obtained on these bodies was through Earth-based observations, either by observing them in orbit or by examining the remnants that reach us here on Earth. In recent years, scientists have been able to investigate asteroids and comets in unprecedented detail by sending spacecraft to examine them from close range. But space missions allow for more than just observations of asteroids and comets. Our program will detail how the composition, orbits, and trajectories of asteroids, comets and meteorites help predict and record the life of the solar system.
Links:
Comet LINEAR's Summer Show
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)homepage
NOVA Online - Doomsday Asteroid
Sky and Telescope's Comet Page
Sky and Telescope's Meteor Page
Books:
Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids
Seymour Simon
Rocks from Space: Meteorites and Meteorite Hunters
O. Richard Norton Dorothy S. Norton (Illustrator) Foreword by Ursula B. Marvin
Cosmic Pinball: The Science of Cosmets, Meteors, and Asteroids
Carolyn Sumners Carl M. Allen Carlton Allen
Impact!: The Threat of Comets and Asteroids
Gerrit L. Verschuur
|
