On warm summer nights it's nice to walk under the starry sky, look at the wonderful constellations on it, make wishes at the sight of a falling star. Or was it a comet? Or maybe a meteorite? There are probably more experts in astronomy among romantics and lovers than among visitors to planetariums.
Mysterious space
Questions that constantly arise when contemplating space objects require answers, and celestial riddles require clues and scientific explanations. Here, for example, what is the difference between an asteroid and a meteorite? Not every student (and even an adult) can immediately answer this question. But let's start in order.
Asteroids
To understand how an asteroid differs from a meteorite, you need to define the concept of "asteroid". This word is translated from ancient Greek as "like a star", since these heavenlyWhen viewed through a telescope, bodies look more like stars than planets. Asteroids until 2006 were often called minor planets. Indeed, the movement of asteroids as a whole does not differ from the planetary movement, because it also occurs around the Sun. Asteroids differ from ordinary planets in their small size. For example, the largest asteroid Ceres is only 770 km across.
Where are these starlike space inhabitants? Most asteroids move in long-studied orbits in the space between Jupiter and Mars. But some minor planets still cross the orbit of Mars (like the asteroid Icarus) and other planets, and sometimes even come closer to the Sun than Mercury.
Meteorites
Unlike asteroids, meteorites are not inhabitants of space, but its messengers. Each of the earthlings can see the meteorite with their own eyes and touch it with their own hands. A large number of them are kept in museums and private collections, but it must be said that meteorites look rather unattractive. Most of them are gray or brownish-black pieces of stone and iron.
So, we managed to figure out the difference between an asteroid and a meteorite. But what can unite them? It is believed that meteorites are fragments of small asteroids. Stones rushing in space collide with each other, and their fragments sometimes reach the surface of the Earth.
The most famous meteorite in Russia is the Tunguska meteorite, which fell into the wildernesstaiga on June 30, 1908. In the recent past, namely in February 2013, the Chelyabinsk meteorite attracted everyone's attention, whose numerous fragments were found near Lake Chebarkul in the Chelyabinsk region.
Thanks to meteorites, peculiar guests from outer space, scientists, and with them all the inhabitants of the Earth, have an excellent opportunity to learn about the composition of celestial bodies and get an idea of the origin of the universe.
Meteors
The words "meteor" and "meteorite" come from the same Greek root, meaning "heavenly" in translation. We know what a meteorite is, and how it differs from a meteor, it will not be difficult to understand.
A meteor is not a specific celestial object, but an atmospheric phenomenon that looks like a flash of light. It occurs when fragments of comets and asteroids burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
Meteor is a shooting star. It may appear to observers to fly back into outer space or burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
It's also easy to figure out how meteors differ from asteroids and meteorites. The last two celestial objects are concretely tangible (even if theoretically in the case of an asteroid), and the meteor is a glow resulting from the combustion of cosmic debris.
Comets
No less wonderful celestial body, which can be admired by an earthly observer, is a comet. How are comets different from asteroids and meteorites?
The word "comet" is also of ancient Greek origin and literallytranslated as "hairy", "shaggy". Comets come from the outer solar system and therefore have a different composition than asteroids formed near the Sun.
Besides the difference in composition, there is a more obvious difference in the structure of these celestial bodies. A comet, when approaching the Sun, unlike an asteroid, exhibits a nebulous coma shell and a tail consisting of gas and dust. Volatile substances of the comet, as it warms up, are actively emitted and evaporated, turning it into the most beautiful luminous celestial object.
In addition, asteroids move in orbits, and their movement in outer space resembles the smooth and measured movement of ordinary planets. Unlike asteroids, a comet is more extreme in its movements. Its orbit is highly elongated. The comet either approaches the Sun closely or moves away from it at a considerable distance.
A comet differs from a meteorite in that it is in motion. A meteorite is the result of a collision of a celestial body with the earth's surface.
Heavenly world and earthly world
I must say that watching the night sky is doubly pleasant when its unearthly inhabitants are well known and understandable to you. And what a pleasure to tell your interlocutor about the world of stars and unusual events in outer space!
And it's not even about the question of how an asteroid differs from a meteorite, but about the awareness of the close connection and deep interaction between the earthly and cosmic worlds that need to be establishedas active as the relationship between one person and another.
