Near Earth Essay

502 Words3 Pages
Collision Course – NEO ‘s When looking at the Earth in the Solar System , there are many fascinating objects , and also many dangerous ones . NEO ‘s , or Near Earth Objects are constantly being studied to determine the actual possibility of collision with the Earth . Most NEO ‘s consist of meteors , meteorites ,comets and asteroids . Though most of the objects are too small to cause any sort of substantial damage , there are a few that are capable of causing the next major extinction . In order for an object to be considered a NEO , it must be within 1 .3 AU ‘s (or astronomical units )from the Sun . 1 .3 AU is the same as about 93 million miles . The NEO ‘s are objects that have been bumped by the gravity of other planets which let them get close to the Earth ‘s orbit . One of the major groups of NEO ‘s are meteoroids . The term meteor is actually used to describe the streak of visible light after it ‘s trip through the Earth ‘s orbit . One of the most famous craters , which is like a giant scar caused by a NEO hitting the Earth , is in Arizona .Meteor Crater , or Barringer Meteorite Crater as it is also known as , is a jarring reminder of what kind of damage a NEO can do upon impact . Most meteors are small enough that once they are pulled in by the Earth ‘s orbit and hit the atmosphere , they burn up and disintegrate before they ever get the chance to actually hit the Earth ‘s surface . Another group of NEO ‘s are asteroids . One of the largest asteroids that astronomers keep their eyes on is Apophis . This giant is due to hit the Earth in 2036 . The size of Apophis is estimated to be a bit larger then the Rose Bowl , and if it were to hit the Earth would cause global damage . If it hits the ocean , the damage occurring from the huge tsunamis by themselves would be catastrophic . Another class of objects that are visible to the naked eye are comets .When speaking

More about Near Earth Essay

Open Document