.Physics presentation - Asteroids
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Asteroids are small, rocky bodies mainly found between Mars and Jupiter, originating from leftover materials from the solar system's formation. They differ from meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites based on their size and atmospheric entry status. The document discusses the potential impacts of asteroids on Earth, their mining prospects, and interesting facts about their composition and occurrence.
.Physics presentation - Asteroids
- 1. By Afaq and Azhar ASTEROIDS
- 2. WHAT ARE ASTEROIDS? • Asteroids are small, rocky solar system bodies that are mainly Present between Mars and Jupiter. There are millions of them. The Planetary science community refers to them as minor planets, a general term applied to solar system bodies smaller than moons. Most of them orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, although there are some of them that orbit closer to Earth.
- 3. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASTEROID, METEOROID METEORS & METEORITES • Asteroid: a large rocky body in space, in orbit around the Sun. • Meteoroid: much smaller rocks or particles in orbit around the Sun. • Meteor: If a meteoroid enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes, it becomes a meteor, which is often called a shooting star. • Meteorite: If a small asteroid or large meteoroid survives its fiery passage through the Earth's atmosphere and lands on Earth's surface, it is then called a meteorite.
- 4. WHERE DID ASTEROIDS CAME FROM? Asteroids are mainly made of materials left over from the formation of the inner solar system or debris from the destruction of a planet. These are leftover from a time when the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago. Early on, the birth of Jupiter prevented any planetary bodies from forming in the gap between Mars and Jupiter, causing the small objects that were there to collide with each other and fragment into the asteroids seen today.
- 5. Asteroids come in three composition classes. C-types (chondrites) are made of clay and silicate rocks. S-types are the so-called “stony” asteroids and are made mostly of silicate rocks and nickel-iron mixtures. M-types are metallic nickel-iron.
- 6. On the first day of January 1801, Italian Priest and Astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered an object which he first thought was a new comet. But after its orbit was better determined it was clear that it was not a comet but more like a small planet. Piazzi named it Ceres, after the Sicilian goddess of grain. Three other small bodies were discovered in the next few years (Pallas, Vesta, and Juno). By the end of the 19th century there were several hundred.Ceres is the largest Asteroid ever Discovered.
- 7. What if an Asteroid Fall on Earth? • It would raise enough dust into the atmosphere to effectively create a “Nuclear winter," severely disrupting life and agriculture around the world. • If an asteroid of the size of a house crashed on Earth at 30,000 mph. It would have an amount of energy roughly equal to the bomb that fell on Hiroshimaa, perhaps 20 kilotons. • Now you can Imagine what will happen if bigger Asteroids Hit the Earth.
- 9. HOW CAN WE STOP AN ASTERIOD FROM HITTING THE EARTH?
- 10. EXTINCTION OF DINOSAURS A notable impact site of an Asteroid hitting the Earth is off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, and is believed to be a record of the event that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
- 11. Some Interesting Facts… • Earth suffers an impact from an Asteriod the size of a football field about once every 2,000 years. • A car-sized meteoroid falls into Earth’s atmosphere about once a year. The result is a beautiful fireball, but it usually burns up before reaching the ground. • Some asteroids have moons of their own! • Asteroids are rich in Precious metals(such as Gold) as well as water. • If all the Precious Metals from the Asteroids are brought to Earth and Distributed Equally, every Single Person on Earth will have more than $100 billion in his Pocket which are more than Bill Gates total Assets.
- 12. ASTEROID MINING Asteroids may be a much better place to get the supplies. Early evidence suggests that there are trillions of dollars' worth of minerals and metals buried in asteroids that come close to the Earth. Asteroids are so close that many scientists think an asteroid mining mission is easily feasible. The machinery will likely be solar powered, to reduce the need for fuel that would have to be hauled to the asteroid by spacecraft. The equipment will also have to be lightweight to transport it to the asteroid. Some experts, have favored using robotic equipment to limit the personnel needed to carry out the mining project. This would reduce the amount of supplies, like food, required for a manned mission.
- 13. ASTEROID MINING Miners on asteroids would use techniques similar to those used on Earth. The most likely method would be to scrape desired material off the asteroid, and tunnel into veins of specific substances. Scraping, or strip mining, will pull out valuable ore that will float off the asteroid. Because much of the ore will fly off, a large canopy might be used to collect it. Once a load of material is ready to be sent to either Earth or a space colony, rocket fuel for a ferrying spacecraft could be produced by breaking down water from the asteroid into hydrogen and oxygen. After an asteroid's minerals and resources have been exhausted by the mining project, the equipment can then be transported to the next asteroid.
- 14. Questions?
- 15. THANK YOU!