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The Space Rocks

Part 1. Vocabulary

The keywords that you will read in the article are defined below for your reference and learning new words and their pronunciation.

 

origin              /ˈôrəjən/ n.

-       the point or place where something begins, arises, or is derived:

example: The English word "rendezvous" is French in origin.

 

collide             /kəˈlīd/ v.

-       hit with force when moving:

example: "She collided with someone"

 

orbit                /ˈôrbət/ n.

-       the curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a star, planet, or moon, especially a periodic elliptical revolution:

example: "the Earth's orbit around the sun"

 

verb: to revolve in an orbit around: CIRCLE

 

bump off        /bəmp - ôf/ idiom

-       To remove someone or something from a list or hierarchy due to lack of time or space.

Example: I'm staying in [place] another night because I got bumped off my flight.

 

dense             /dens/ adj.

-       marked by compactness or crowding together of parts

example: dense vegetation

 

 

Part 2. Comprehension Questions

What did NASA and other scientists think about asteroids?

Where is the asteroid belt located?

Where is the snow line located?

Compare and contrast the three main types of space rocks.

What did comets and asteroids bring to Earth?

 

Part 3. Article

Space Rocks

 

Key points:

·         Study about space rocks helps us learn about the origin of our solar system.

·         Asteroids often collide and are large rocks in space.

·         Meteoroids are small rocks that come from the asteroid or a comet.

·         Comets are bodies of ice, rock, and dust.

·         Earth was hit by thousands of comets and asteroids.

 It had been years since a man set off to conquer space and during all these years, astronauts have been making astronomical discoveries.

It had always been said that space is such a cool place. Why? It simply rocks!

The rocks are called small bodies, yet some of them are larger, which are called planetoids. They may also be known as Near-Earth Objects (NEO).

There are three main types of space rocks: asteroids, meteoroids, and comets,

As a student you might have some questions about space rocks, so do I. So, I have laid out some of the common questions and their answers.

Q: Why learn about Space Rocks?

A: NASA and other scientists study space rocks to help us learn about the origin of our solar system. According to them, asteroids are thought to be the leftovers from the formation of the inner solar system, while the comets are from the formation of the outer planets.

Q: What are the differences between these space rocks?

A: Most asteroids orbit the Sun in a region between Mars and Jupiter called the Asteroid belt.

Let us compare and contrast the different space rocks.

Asteroids are larger objects than a meteoroid that orbits the sun and it is made of rock or metal. Historically though, objects larger than 10 meters across have been called asteroids.

 The asteroid belt is a crowded place to be, that sometimes they collide with each other and go off course, even outside the belt to make a different journey through the solar system.

These rocks have different names associated with each.

An asteroid is a larger object than a meteoroid that orbits the sun and it is made of rock or metal. Historically though, objects larger than 10 meters across have been called asteroids.

A meteoroid is 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.

When the meteoroids fly through the Earth's atmosphere they become meteors.

A meteor is a meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere and vaporizes. A meteor is also called a “shooting star”.

A meteorite is a meteor survives their burning descent through our atmosphere and land on Earth. Some meteorites contain iron which makes them very dense, dark, and magnetic. They are the oldest thing you can touch as they are the same age as the solar system.

A meteor shower is a collection of meteors visible when Earth passes through a trail of debris left by a comet.

There is a snow line in the solar system, beyond which objects contain a lot of ice and located beyond the orbit of Neptune, called the Kuiper belt.

Beyond this belt exist an Oort Cloud. These icy objects bump off course sometimes to become comets that journey past the planets towards the sun forming long beautiful tails as their icy surfaces warm up.

Comet is 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 meteoroids.

At certain times of the year, people see these trails as bits of comets flare up and fly through our sky.

In the years that were so far past, Earth was hit by thousands of comets and asteroids. It is thought that they brought water to our world. Comets may have also brought ingredients of life to the Earth.

Source:

https://www.kuriositas.com/2015/10/space-rocks.html

https://spacequotations.com/

https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/F_Space_Rocks

 

 

 






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