Asteroids

Most of the asteroids are located between the orbits of

• Venus and Earth
• Earth and Mars
  
• Mars and Jupiter
• Jupiter and Saturn

Why would global temperature drop is the Earth were struck by an asteroid several km in diameter or larger?

• the impact would move the Earth farther from the sun
• the resulting dust cloud would block out sunlight
• the ices in the asteroid would increase the Earth's albedo
• the low temperature of the asteroid would chill the oceans

Approximately how large must a meteoroid be in order to survive passage through the atmosphere and reach the ground as a meteorite?

• as big as a fist
• as big as a penny
• as big as a automobile
• as big as a house

If you saw a shooting star and were lucky enough to see where it landed, which object could you possibly pick up from the landing site?

• asteroid
• Meteor
• meteorite
• meteroid

What do we call a sand- to boulder-sized particle of debris in the solar system?

• meteorite
• asteroid
• meteor
• meteoroid

What do we call the visible streak of light created by space debris entering Earth's atmosphere?

• meteor
• meteorite

What do we call an object smaller than a planet but with gravity too weak to form a spherical shape?

• asteroid
  
• comet
• meteorite

Which list correctly orders the lifecycle of a piece of debris as it passes from space down to Earth's surface?

• meteorite-meteor-meteoroid
• meteor-meteorite-meteoroid
• meteoroid-meteor- meteorite
• meteor-meteoroid-meteorite

Currently the most accepted explanation of the Tunguska Event is the explosion of

• an iron meteor just above the surface of the earth.
• a stony asteroid just above the surface of the earth.
• a mini black hole in the earth's atmosphere.
• a German U-2 rocket.

Who discovered the first asteroid?

• Giuseppe Piazzi
• Leonardo de Vinci
• Fabio Caruso