Target 7

Explain the difference between a meteor and meteorite.

What is a Meteor?

A Meteor is a Comet or Asteroid that completely burns up when it enters the Earths atmosphere

As the Comet or Asteroid burns up, a streak is left behind. This sometimes known as a “shooting star”

What is a Meteorite?A Meteorite is a Comet or Asteroid that does not completely burn up when it enters the Earths atmosphere.

As a result the comet or asteroid lands on the Earth’s surface. This is known as a “meteorite”

The largest Meteorite found in the USA. Discovered in 1902

What is more likely going to be a meteor or a meteorite?

Due to their composition, comet is more likely to burn up in the atmosphere while an asteroid is more likely to make it to the Earth’s surface

Target 8

Analyze the impact that meteorites of varying size (meteoroid and asteroid)

have on the Earth.

Meteoroid

A meteoroid is a chunk of rock, metal, or dust in space.

Meteorite

Meteoroids that survive as they pass through the

atmosphere and hit Earth’s surface are called

meteorites.

Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona

A meteorite can make a hole, or crater, in the ground when it hits it. The larger the meteorite, the bigger the hole.

- Scientists think that the crater was formed sometime between 25,000 and 50,000 years ago by an iron meteorite, somewhere between 30 and 100m in diameter, weighing roughly 60,000 tons.

- The energy released by the impact was roughly equivalent to 3.5 million tons of TNT.

Most Meteorites are small, however there are scars of larger scale meteorites still visible today.

• Large Impact Craters

• Dust Clouds

• Sunlight Blocked (food chain crumbles)

• Wild Fires

• Earthquakes

• Tsunamis

• Flooding

The Moon lacks a thick atmosphere so most comets and asteroids hit the Moon’s surface. This is why the Moon has so many craters (no plate tectonic movement means the impacts last forever)!