S8GU2L6VL - Small Bodies In The Solar System

S8GU2L6VL - Small Bodies In The Solar System

Virtual Laboratory

There are currently 34 known Martian meteorites. How do you think these space rocks made it to Earth?

• Perhaps something large, like a comet or an asteroid, hit Mars and blasted rocks from Mars’s surface out into space.

• The Martian meteoroids eventually made it to Earth and became meteors.

• Some survived the trip through Earth’s atmosphere and have been found as Martian meteorites.

Do all meteoroids survive the trip through Earth’s atmosphere to become meteorites?

• No. Most of the meteoroids that become meteors are so small that they burn up completely. Even larger meteoroids may break apart in reentry and the smaller pieces burn up as well.

What are three sources of meteorites?

• Material that was blasted away when something large collided with Mars, objects that have wandered out of the asteroid belt, and particles left by comets as they orbit the sun.

What is the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?

• A meteor burns up in Earth's atmosphere before making it to the ground. A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal that survives the trip through the atmosphere and makes it to the ground intact. 

MISCONCEPTION

Are "shooting stars" really stars?

• No. Although they look like stars in the sky that are falling to earth, shooting stars are really small pieces of rock or metal that are burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

CORE CONCEPT

Why does the comet’s tail point away from the sun?

• The solar wind comes straight out from the sun in all directions. The comet’s tail is formed by the solar wind blasting particles off the passing comet.

• The comet’s tail points in the direction of the solar wind’s movement (away from the sun).

How many tails do comets have?

• Comets have two tails: a gas tail and a debris tail.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

What are a comet's tails made of?

• The comet's debris tail consists of dust and particles and is formed by solar wind.

• The gas tail is made up of gases and is subject to the magnetic field of the sun.

CORE CONCEPT

On Earth, we see Halley’s comet return every 75 years. What does this mean about the comet’s orbit?

• Halley's comet completes one orbit around the sun once every 75 Earth years.

HYPOTHESIS

What is wrong with this hypothesis? “If a meteor shower happens once where the model shows Earth’s orbit intersecting the comet’s orbit, then a meteor shower will occur whenever the two paths appear to meet.”

• This hypothesis is stated as an “if/then” that may lead you to not properly test the conditions.

• State the hypothesis as an absolute without “ifs” and “thens.” 

Why is it important to count the number of times Earth’s orbit crosses the comet’s debris trail in order to test your hypothesis?

• The hypothesis attempts to establish a connection between the number of times the two orbits cross and the number of meteor showers.

• Therefore, you need to count both.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

Were there two meteor showers for comet Tempel-Tuttle?

• No. There was only one meteor shower associated with Tempel-Tuttle: the Leonids meteor shower.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

How many meteor showers did you see for comet Hale-Bopp?

• There are no meteor showers associated with Hale-Bopp.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

Why do you think no meteor showers were associated with Hale-Bopp?

• Perhaps Hale Bopp's debris trail did not actually cross Earth's orbit.

CORE CONCEPT

In this simulation, did you see a meteor shower every time a comet's debris trail appeared to cross Earth's orbit?

• No. Hale-Bopp did not produce any meteor showers, and although both Tempel-Tuttle and Swift-Tuttle appear to cross Earth's orbit twice, each comet produced only one meteor shower.

How would you explain why there was not a meteor show each time the model showed a comet's path crossing Earth's orbit?

• The paths did not actually cross. The model only made them appear to cross, but since the comet's orbit and Earth's orbit are on different planes, the two did not actually intersect.

INQUIRY SKILLS

If there is something about comets and meteor showers that you don’t know or can’t explain, should you include this in a conclusion?

• A conclusion can say that the original hypothesis was wrong and state why.

• It is also valid to include the remaining questions in a conclusion.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

Does the diagram help you visualize how a comet’s orbit around the sun may be different than Earth’s orbit around the sun?

• Yes. The diagram more clearly shows that a two-dimensional representation of the orbits makes it appear that the comet’s orbit and Earth’s orbit intersect when they actually do not.

• The comet’s orbit may not be in the same plane as Earth’s orbit.

SYNTHESIS

What are the causes of meteor showers?

• Meteor showers occur when Earth passes through the debris trail along a comet’s orbital path around the sun.

EXTEND AND REFLECT

Do you think every comet is responsible for meteor showers on Earth?

• No. Hale-Bopp is a good example of a comet that does not produce meteor showers on Earth.

• Earth does not go through Hale-Bopp’s debris trail, so there is no meteor shower.

Lesson 6 Virtual Lab

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