Asteroid Archives - Planet Facts https://planetfacts.org/category/our-solar-system/asteroid/ Fun and Interesting Information About the Nine Planets Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:30:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://planetfacts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/cropped-planetfacts_logo-32x32.png Asteroid Archives - Planet Facts https://planetfacts.org/category/our-solar-system/asteroid/ 32 32 Meteor Storm https://planetfacts.org/meteor-storm/ Tue, 15 Apr 2014 06:07:16 +0000 http://planet-facts.com/?p=1525 People from all walks of life may not agree on most things. But it is assumed that they do agree on the beauty of the sky, especially on a clear night. When you chance upon a meteor shower, you look up in awe in its beauty. But when you come upon a meteor storm, you […]

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]]> People from all walks of life may not agree on most things. But it is assumed that they do agree on the beauty of the sky, especially on a clear night. When you chance upon a meteor shower, you look up in awe in its beauty. But when you come upon a meteor storm, you may have second thoughts and may think that the world is at its end.

What are meteor storms?

Meteor storms are intense meteor showers. They may seem to radiate from just one point in the sky because the particles travel parallel to each other. Most meteor storms and showers are named after the constellation where they are nearest.

There are two particular meteor showers a stargazer should take note of:

The first would be the Perseids. It is the most regular and most visible of all the showers and is associated with a specific comet (the comet Swift-Tuttle). They peak between August 9 and 14 of every year and is said to have been observed approximately for the past 2000 years. The pre-dawn hours would be the best time to see them.

The second would be the Leonids and is claimed to be the most spectacular meteor shower. Connected with another comet (the comet Tempel-Tuttle), the meteors appear to radiate from one point – where the constellation Leo is. They say that the Leonid showers turn into a storm approximately every 33 years. But recent storm activity belies that theory as the last Leonid meteor storms were recorded in recent years: one storm in 1999 and two each for the years 2001 and 2002.

A meteor storm occurs unexpectedly. So should you be packing your bags for a meteor watching outside the city, be alert and scan the sky from time to time so that you won’t miss it.

Leonid Meteor Storm

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]]> Regolith https://planetfacts.org/regolith/ Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:02:43 +0000 http://planet-facts.com/?p=1955 A regolith is a collective term referring to the blanket of powdery materials that cover the surface of several celestial bodies such as the earth, moon, and asteroids among many others. This blanket has a powdery appearance and texture because it is composed of fine debris such as soil, shattered rock, dust, and other small […]

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]]> A regolith is a collective term referring to the blanket of powdery materials that cover the surface of several celestial bodies such as the earth, moon, and asteroids among many others. This blanket has a powdery appearance and texture because it is composed of fine debris such as soil, shattered rock, dust, and other small objects that tend to land on the surface of these celestial bodies.

On earth, the regolith is typically called soil and is made from natural processes such as the weathering of rocks. The soil in this case is vital to the survival of the organisms residing in the planet because it is where plants grow and where human beings build. In the case of the moon however and other objects in outer space that have no known signs of life on them, the regolith serves no other known function except to reflect light from the surface. The regolith from these celestial bodies comes mostly from the debris left over from impacts with meteors or asteroids. Because most of these bodies do not have an atmosphere surrounding them, the impact is often very hard and even small meteorites can cause damage or leave debris.

The moon’s regolith in particular is called lunar regolith and was found to be around 20 meters only at its thickest portions. The composition is mainly rocks and minerals along with glass particles from impacts with asteroids. A famous photo of the lunar regolith was taken during the Apollo 11 mission and showcases the footprint of renowned astronaut Neil Armstrong.

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