NATS 1740 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Martian Meteorite, Meteor Shower, Lunar Meteorite

• School: York University
• Department: Natural Science
• Course: NATS 1740
• Professor: Randy Hoffman

Document Summary

Rocky planetesimals survived in the asteroid belt between mars and jupiter because they did not accrete into a planet. Jupiters gravity through the influence of orbital resonances stirred up asteroid orbits and thereby prevented their accretion into a planet. Resonances arise whenever objects periodically line up with each other so gravity effects them over and over again in the same direction. The difference between meteors and meteorites: meteor: flash of light caused by a particle entering our atmosphere at high speed not the particle itself, meteorite: large enough to pass the atmosphere and leave an impression on the ground. Types of meteorites: primitive meteorites: simple mixtures of rock and metal sometimes also containing carbon compounds and small amounts of water. Nearly 4. 6 billion years old: processed meteorites: large asteroids underwent differentiation, made of mostly iron some are rocky. Few 100 million years younger than primitive.