Chapter 15

Distinguish between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite.

Explain why the meteors in a given shower appear to be diverging from a fixed point in the sky

Why do meteor showers recur on the same date each year?

Why are carbonaceous chondrites especially important for the study of the early solar system?

Ceres, the first asteroid to be discovered, lies between Mars and Jupiter. Why was Ceres unknown to ancient astronomers?

What is the relationship between asteroids and meteorites?

Describe what happens to the nucleus of a comet as it moves from 10 AU from the Sun to 0.5 AU from the Sun.

Where does the gas and the dust in the coma of a comet come from?

Why do the dust tail and the plasma tail of a comet point away from the Sun?

What causes Oort cloud comets to enter the inner solar system and become visible as new comets?

What is the eventual fate of most short-period and long-period comets?

What is the relationship between comets and meteor showers?

Suppose the Earth were struck by an asteroid \(10 \mathrm{km}\) in diameter. Describe the local and global consequences of the impact.

What evidence do we have that the extinction of species at the end of the Cretaceous era was associated with an asteroid or comet striking the Earth?