Meteors, Asteroids, and Comets 517 17.1 Meteors and Meteorites 518 Heating of Meteors 518 Meteorites 518
17.2 Asteroids 520 Size and Shape 520 Composition 522 Origin of Asteroids 522 Unusual Asteroids 523
17.3 Comets 525 Structure of Comets 525 Composition of Comets 527 Origin of Comets 527 Formation of the Comet's Tail 528 Light from the Comet's Tail 529 Short-Period Comets 530 Re-Modeling: The Kuiper Belt 531 Fate of Short-Period Comets 531 Meteor Showers 531
17.4 Giant Impacts 533 Giant Meteor Craters 533 Mass Extinction and Asteroid/Comet Impacts 534 Re-Modeling: Ghost Craters or No Tell-Tale Fragments 535 Re-Modeling: Meteorites Can Be Deadly 536 Projects 538
Essay 3 Life in the Universe 539 |