UNDERSTANDING

COMETS,
ASTEROIDS
& METEORS

TYPHOONS
 Recent advances in space technology have allowed
scientists coming from different background like physics,
chemistry, biology, and geology to collaborate on
studying Near-Earth Objects (NEO) like comets and
asteroids.
With more powerful telescopes and space probes, the
study of comets and asteroids provides more clues about
the origins of our solar system. Over the past three
years, amateur and professional astronomers have
discovered several NEO’s that came close to Earth, the
most recent asteroid being Asteroid 2012 DA14.

OVERVIEW
 It made a very close approach to Earth as it orbited
the Sun on February 16, 2012 (Philippine Time). On the
morning of February 16, 2012, an asteroid entered Earth’s
atmosphere and exploded over Lake Chebarkul in Russia
hurting about 1,000 people in the process.
These two events triggered superstitions, fears, and
doomsday prophecies held by different cultures. But do
these things have scientific basis?

OVERVIEW
 Has Earth ever been hit by a comet or an
asteroid?
 If yes, how have such impacts affected
Earth?
 How often does a comet or an asteroid
hit Earth?

QUESTIONS
Meteor Crater near Winslow, Arizona, USA
COMET’S ORBIT
ASTEROIDS are generally larger chunks of rock that come
from the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter. Sometimes their orbits get perturbed or
altered and some asteroids end up coming closer to the
Sun, and therefore closer to Earth.

COMETS, METEORS & ASTEROIDS

Comets are much like asteroids, but might have a more ice,
methane, ammonia, and other compounds that develop a fuzzy,
cloud-like shell called a coma – as well as a tail — when it gets closer
to the Sun.
Comets are thought to originate from two different sources:
Long-period comets (those which take more than 200 years to
complete an orbit around the Sun) originate from the Oort Cloud.
Short-period comets (those which take less than 200 years to
complete an orbit around the Sun) originate from the Kuiper Belt.
OORT CLOUD & KUIPEER BELT
OORT CLOUD & KUIPER BELT
 Space debris smaller than an asteroid are called meteoroids.
A meteoroid is a piece of interplanetary matter that is smaller than a
kilometer and frequently only millimeters in size. Most meteoroids
that enter the Earth’s atmosphere are so small that they vaporize
completely and never reach the planet’s surface. And when they do
enter Earth’s atmosphere, they gain a different name:

COMETS, METEORS & ASTEROIDS

Meteors. Another name commonly used for a meteor is a
shooting star. A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night
sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes
through our atmosphere. “Meteor” refers to the flash of light caused
by the debris, not the debris itself.
If any part of a meteoroid survives the fall through the
atmosphere and lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite. Although
the vast majority of meteorites are very small, their size can range
from about a fraction of a gram (the size of a pebble) to 100
kilograms (220 lbs) or more (the size of a huge, life-destroying
boulder).
 Comets and asteroids are referred to be astronomers
as Near-Earth Objects (NEO). Comets are icy bodies or
objects while asteroids are rocky fragments. They are
remnants from the formation of our solar system 4.6
billion years ago. The table below summarizes the
similarities and differences between a comet and an
asteroid.
 Comets and asteroids have irregular shapes and varied
sizes. They both reflect light from the Sun at varying
amounts depending on the size and composition.
 The presence of more silicates allows a comet or asteroid
to reflect light. Silicates are minerals that contain the
elements silicon, oxygen, and at least one metal.
 If an asteroid has smaller amounts of silicates relative to
its other components, it would be more difficult to see it
even with a telescope because only a small area of the
asteroid can reflect light thus it may appear smaller than
what it really is when viewed.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

 Comet and asteroid both orbit the Sun and move
relatively slow when viewed from Earth. This means,
you can see a comet for up to a year in the night sky
(or even during the morning if the comet is bright
enough). Their major difference is their origin or
where they came from in space.
 Comets usually come from the Oort Cloud which is
beyond our Solar System, and a few from Kuiper Belt
which is just beyond Neptune’s orbit. Long-period
comets come from the Oort Cloud, while short-period
comets come from Kuiper Belt.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

 Comet Halley, the most famous comet of the 20th
century is the only known short-period comet. It takes
75-79 years for Comet Halley to orbit the Sun. We see
it in the sky every time it makes its nearest approach
to the Sun.
 All other comets that have been identified are
classified as long-period comets and takes 200 to
hundred millions of years to complete their orbit
around the Sun.
 Asteroids, on the other hand, originate from the Main
Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. This belt is
theorized by scientists to be remnants of a planet that
did not completely form.
 The orbit of an asteroid is more rounded and less
elliptical than the orbit of a comet.
 In February 2013, Asteroid 2012 DA14 made a very
close approach to Earth as it orbited the Sun. Distance
in space is measured in light years and this Asteroid
was just 0.4 light year away from Earth; the closest
that any asteroid has ever been close to Earth.
 In December 2012, during the midst of the dooms day
prophecies, Asteroid Toutatis also made a near
approach to Earth but not as close as Asteroid 2012
DA14.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

 Another stark difference between a comet and an
asteroid is their chemical composition. Comets are icy
objects while asteroids are rocky fragments.
Sometimes, comets may contain other elements like
sodium or argon, which is specific to a comet.
 Through further studies, scientists learned that Comet
Hale-Bopp’s contained Argon which was believed to
explain the very bright appearance of the comet in
1997.
 Scientists also discovered a faint sodium tail, a third
type of comet tail to add to the well-known dust and
plasma (or ion) tails. On the other hand, an asteroid is
mostly composed of rock (silicates) and metals (iron
and nickel being the usual metals referred to.
 The chemical composition of an asteroid is important
in providing clues for scientists to discover more about
the chemical composition of Earth and the other
planets in the Solar System, as well as how life on Earth
was affected by impacts in the past.
 It is the scientists’ belief that Earth, other planets, and
asteroids are essentially similar in composition. In
fact, asteroids are also called minor planets or
planetoids. Asteroids are mostly composed of metals
like iron and nickel; the same metals that are
theorized to make up Earth’s core.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

  The discovery of high contents of
iridium in oceanic sedimentary layers
in different parts of the world such as
Italy, Denmark, and New Zealand
during the late 1970’s led geologists,
Luis and Walter Alvarez to propose
the Alvarez Hypothesis in 1980.
Iridium is a metal belonging to the
Platinum family.
 It is very rarely found in Earth’s crust, but more abundant in the
mantle and core. It is also abundant in our solar system. They
proposed that an asteroid with approximately 10 kilometers in
diameter made impact with Earth 65 million years ago.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

 Comets and asteroids orbit the Sun, but it is theorized
by scientists that other planets in our solar system can
influence and alter the orbital path of these NEO’s,
thus they come crashing towards Earth.
 By studying the orbits of known NEO’s, scientists have
calculated the orbital periods that indicate when these
objects will make their closest approach to Earth as
they orbit Sun, or predict the likelihood of a collision
with Earth.
 While asteroid and comets have collided with Earth in
the past, the frequency is very much longer than a
human lifetime, so there is no need for worry.

COMETS & ASTEROIDS

 It is a visual treat to see a meteor at night; more so if you
get to see a meteor shower.
 How much and how well you can see meteors in the sky
depend on several factors:
a. air pollution;
b. light pollution;
c. the time of day; weather conditions;
d. size of the meteoroids among;
e. source of the meteoroid (comet versus asteroid); and
f. the chemical composition of the meteoroid itself.

METEOROID, METEOR & METEORITE

 It is harder to see them in cities where there are many
artificial light sources and where there the air tend to be
more polluted causing a smog or haze to block the light
coming from meteors).
 Meteor showers are easier to observe at night especially
between midnight up to around an hour before dawn.
.

METEOROID, METEOR & METEORITE

 Generally, there are three types:
a. stony
b. stony-iron, and
c. iron meteorites

 In the Philippines, there are

only five meteorites that have
been accepted internationally.
The table below enumerates
these meteorites.

METEORITE
METEORITE
 The elements and compounds enumerated in the
table show that meteorites are very rich in mineral
resources.
 Impact craters caused by a comet or asteroid did not
only bring with them minerals from space but also
caused the Earth rocks found in these areas to
change in chemical composition.
 The presence of these meteorites and impact craters
hold much potential for the mining industry aside
from being objects of scientific scrutiny.

METEORITE
Celestial visitors like comets, asteroids,
and meteors have always captured the
imagination of ancient civilizations.
They have been thought of as bad omens
or signs of great change or challenge such
as ushering disasters and wars.

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT METEORS,

METEOROIDS & METEORITES
But with new scientific processes and
tools, as well as greater access to scientific
information, these celestial visitors have
gained the appreciation and interest of
many people, scientists and non-scientists
included, all over the world.

SUPERSTITIONS ABOUT METEORS,

METEOROIDS & METEORITES