Abstract
Asteroids are lumps of rock and metal flying around the Solar System; they are the rubble left over from its creation. They range in size from the largest, which is Ceres, with a diameter of 580 miles to grains smaller than fine sand. When the smaller objects enter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up they are called meteors – or popularly “shooting stars,” although they are neither stars nor do they shoot.
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Notes and Further Reading
The first day of the second millennium was January 1, 2001, but the whole world celebrated a year too early on January 1, 2000.
Supercritical water is held in its liquid state well above normal boiling temperatures by the application of immense pressure. If this pressure is released, the water will boil explosively.
Tucker SD (2017) Space Oddities: Our Strange Attempts to Explain the Universe, Amberley Publishing, p. 112.
Also previously known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinction event.
The great British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore was once asked in a television interview if he thought that there was intelligent life in our Solar System. He replied “No! But it may eventually develop on our Earth!”
Lapaz L (1951) Injuries from falling meteorites, Lincoln, Popular Astronomy, Vol. 59, p. 433.
Seargent D (2009) Weird Astronomy, Springer Publishing, p. 243.
These days “Halley” is usually pronounced so that it rhymes with valley or with daily. Spellings of Halley’s name during his lifetime included at least six different ways of spelling it, so its pronunciation is uncertain. Take your pick!
Asteroid discoverers have gotten around this restriction by naming asteroids after one another!
Ashbrook J (1984) The Astronomical Scrapbook, Cambridge University Press (1984), Chapter 62.
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Kirby, G. (2018). Solar System Rubble: The Home of Princess Moon Owl?. In: Wacky and Wonderful Misconceptions About Our Universe. Astronomers' Universe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73022-6_7
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