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Meteors - Coggle Diagram
Meteors
Every day, hundreds of thousands of objects from space collide with Earth or its atmosphere, to be precise.
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They simply burn up in the upper atmosphere – a phenomenon known as the shooting star, called meteoroid.
However, occasionally something bigger comes along – big enough to not completely burn up in the atmosphere and make it down to the surface. Even these rarely have an impact on us.
Very rarely, a massive meteorite will hit Earth with enough speed to form an impact crater.
These craters can tell us a lot about the size and speed of the meteor, and any effects it may have had on the planet.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a relatively small impact. Craters can be dated back and linked to the timeline of events in the planet’s history, to show that meteorites may have been responsible for many previously unexplained timeline changes.
As Earth has an active atmosphere with weather, these craters can easily become lost because of weathering.
Geological activity can also hide them, for example if the surface is re-covered with lava.
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Asteroids and comets can both fall as meteors, causing craters on Earth if they land.
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They have very elliptical (oval shaped) orbits, coming from outside Neptune towards the Sun and then going back again.
Craters are formed by the impacting body imparting its energy to the Earth, causing massive shockwaves. Their formation can be separated into three stages
The Compression Stage – This is the initial transfer of energy between the meteorite and the Earth. The front of the meteor hits the Earth, compressing the ground below it, and the back moves towards the front, compressing the entire body at an immense pressure.
The Excavation Stage – The energy vaporizes (melts then boils) the meteorite and parts of the ground below it, sending rock vapor miles into the atmosphere. Molten and solid rock from around the impact site can be thrown hundreds of miles by the shock wave. Material thrown out is called Ejecta. A lot of material builds up around the crater, forming the classic ring.
The Final Modification Stage – some Ejecta falls into the crater, partially filling it.
The pressure of the shockwave can change the structure of the rocks around the impact crater. The intense heat can melt rock, sand, and soil nearby, which can form ‘impact glass’, a dark colored glass as it cools rapidly.