Introducing...The Asteroid Belt
...and meteoroids too!
Click here: Asteroids / Meteoroids
FYI: The definition of aster-oid means "star-like"
Below: Asteroid Ida with its moon Dactyl
Below: Map of the Asteroid Belt
(between Mars and Jupiter)
Floating "Baked Potatoes"
Click here: Definition of Asteroid, Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite
Below: The Moon showing asteroid impact craters
Below: The Little Prince on his asteroid
Below: Chart of Annual "Meteor Showers"
| NAME |
SHOWER BEGINS |
MAX |
END |
HOURLY RATE |
PARENT COMET |
NOTES |
| Quadrantids |
1st Jan |
4th Jan |
6th Jan |
60 |
Unknown |
Short, sharp maximum |
| Lyrids |
18th Apr |
21st Apr |
25th Apr |
10 |
Thatcher |
Occasionally rich |
| Eta Aquarids |
24th Apr |
5th May |
20th May |
35 |
Halleys |
Broad maximum |
| Delta Aquarids |
15th July |
29th July |
6th Aug |
20 |
Unknown |
Faint meteors |
| Perseids |
23rd July |
12th Aug |
20th Aug |
75 |
Swift-Tuttle |
Rich, consistent |
| Orionids |
16th Oct |
22nd Oct |
27th Oct |
25 |
Halleys |
Fine, swift trails |
| Draconids |
10th Oct |
10th Oct |
10th Oct |
Varied |
Giacobini-Zinner |
Usually weak |
| Taurids |
20th Oct |
3rd Nov |
30th Nov |
10 |
Enke |
Slow meteors, can be good |
| Leonids |
15th Nov |
17th Nov |
20th Nov |
Varied |
Temple-Tuttle |
Usually weak |
| Andromanids |
15th Nov |
20th Nov |
6th Dec |
Low |
Biela |
Now almost extinct |
| Geminids |
7th Dec |
13th Dec |
16th Dec |
75 |
Phaeton (asteroid) |
Rich, consistent |
| Ursids |
17th Dec |
23rd Dec |
25th Dec |
5 |
Tuttle |
Can be rich |
Note: The Geminids is the only meteor shower created by an asteroid instead of a comet.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (exerpt)
The upper air burst into life!
And a hundred fire-flags sheen,
To and fro they were hurried about!
And to and fro, and in and out,
The wan stars danced between
And the coming wind did roar more loud,
And the sails did sigh like sedge;
And the rain poured down from one black cloud;
The Moon was at its edge
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1797)
Click here: Learn more...
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Eugene Shoemaker (1928-1997): |
The only man to be buried on Earth's moon!!! |
Above: Eugene Shoemaker: Meteorite Specialist / Space Burial / Spaceweather News
Below: Earth's Moon showing meteorite craters and ejecta lines.
Above and Below: Close-up of a lunar crater and ejecta lines
Proof of Impact: Shocked Quartz
Click here: Shocked Quartz (Kozite)
Click here: Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona
Asteroids...Potentially Dangerous "Baked Potatoes" in the Sky!!!
Click here: Asteroids / Impact Craters
Click here: Odessa Meteorite Crater in Texas
Below: Asteroid Impact Crater
What killed the dinosaurs???
Click here: Asteroid Impact / Asteroids and Dinosaur Extinction / Past Five Extinctions / 6th
Maybe dinosaurs aren't extinct after all...
Meet Microraptor Gui / Learn More
Archaeoptryx: Feathered Dinosaur-Bird
Above: Emu...dino or bird? You decide.
The Extinction Website
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