01:460:100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Meteoroid, Solar Wind, Dynamo Theory

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Geological Sciences
• Course: 01:460:100
• Professor: Mark Feigenson

Document Summary

Chapter 2 - journey to the center of the earth. Our experience with earth is limited to its surface. Difference between the different names of space debris: Comet - a body of ice, rock, and dust that can be several miles in diameter and orbits the sun. Debris from comets is the source of many meteorites. Meteoroid - a small rocky or metal object, usually between the size of a grain of sand or a boulder, that orbits the sun. it originates from a comet or asteroid. Meteor - a meteoroid that enters the earth"s atmosphere and vaporizes, and it is commonly known as a shooting star. Meteorite - a meteor that hits earth without burning up in the atmosphere. Asteroid - an object larger than a meteoroid that orbits the sun and is made of rock or metal. Historically, objects larger than 10 meters across have been called asteroids.