Why are meteorites important in astronomy?

Answer 1

Asteroids are the leftovers from the formation of the Solar system. To find out about them is to find out the beginnings of the Earth and ultimately the Galaxy.

Another reason we're so interested in them is that every now and then they hit us. Life on earth has been profoundly affected several times in our planet's history by asteroid impacts. Several of these impacts have caused mass extinction events, like the asteroid impact that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs along with about half of all plant and animal species on earth around 65 million years ago. The more we know about asteroids, the more we can keep track of them, so we know if one is headed our way. (We're safe for now though.)

Answer 2

1.) They tell us about the origins of our solar system. Asteroids are the leftover debris from the creation of our solar system.

2.) Sometimes a collision in the asteroid belt can send a large rock hurling towards earth. It if collides, all life on earth could be effected depending on how big the impactor is. Even though most of the asteroids that enter our atmosphere are too small to do anything and usually burn up before impacting, it is vital that we are on a constant lookout for any of these killer rocks.

Answer 3

Asteroids are the leftovers from the formation of the Solar system. To find out about them is to find out the beginnings of the Earth and ultimately the Galaxy.

Another reason we're so interested in them is that every now and then they hit us. Life on earth has been profoundly affected several times in our planet's history by asteroid impacts. Several of these impacts have caused mass extinction events, like the asteroid impact that resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs along with about half of all plant and animal species on earth around 65 million years ago. The more we know about asteroids, the more we can keep track of them, so we know if one is headed our way. (We're safe for now though.)

Answer 4

Yes, they created the foundation of earth's outer shell, when earth was created, it combined with a big asteroid in an event called the big bang. The Earth began to modernize and started getting things like Oxegen and Water, which was formed from the steam caused in volcanoes.

Answer 5

About 99.9% of all meteorites have roughly the same age. They formed very early in the history of the solar system. So there aren't any "primitive" ones, or

you could say they are all primitive. They give useful information about the formation of the solar system.

Answer 6

• To learn and discover more about the universe

• Asteroids that get too close to Earth may end up hitting it. If scientists know where and when an asteroid will strike, the proper authorities could evacuate the affected area in time to save lives and property. Given enough time, plans could even be made to divert the asteroid from its trajectory.

Answer 7

Unlike rocks on Earth, which have been altered and recycled by geologic processes, most meteorites have changed little since the solar system formed and so offer clues as to what the early solar system was like.

Answer 8

They can be viewed as precious by astrophysicists (and cosmologists and astronomers) because they can tell us more about our solar system and the universe around us. Since they were formed far away from the Earth - and sometimes even our solar system - they can tell us about the composition of other bodies within our solar system and can reveal clues about the origin of the universe. And they are, in essence, free: we don't need to send expensive probes into space to find and retrieve them because they fall onto the Earth's surface out of their own accord.

Answer 9

Because they contain the

raw elements

that the planets contained when they were first formed. They are "leftovers" if you will.

Answer 10

because they are very important to our everyday lives and in order to make sure we know what is going on we need to keep track of recording data on meteorites