Unit 3 Astronomy.ppt

Unit 3 Astronomy What Caused the Late Heavy Bombardment? Enjoy the beauty and magnificence of the Universe Discussion Are you interested in the Universe and what do you know about it? Do you know anything about the Late Heavy Bombardment? Late Heavy Bombardment, also known as Lunar Cataclysm. About 4 to 3.8 billion years ago a period of intense comet and asteroid bombardment is thought to have peppered all the planets including the Earth. Many of the numerous craters found on the Moon and other bodies in the Solar System record this event. One theory holds that a gravitational surge caused by the orbital interaction(轨道相互作用) of Jupiter and Saturn sent Neptune careening(倾斜) into the ring of comets(彗星环) in the outer Solar System. The disrupted comets were sent in all directions and collided with the planets. These water-rich objects may have provided much of the water in the Earths oceans. Introduction Impact crater 撞击坑、陨石坑 Impact basin 撞击盆地 asteroid 小行星 comet 彗星 Difference? 小行星主要沿椭圆形轨道运行；彗星除了椭圆形轨道，还可以沿抛物线和双曲线运行。 小行星较稳定，不太容易挥发物质；彗星在距离太阳较近时，会挥发气体。（彗星成分多为尘埃和冰块） meteor/meteorite 流星/流星体 比小行星和彗星更小的天体——流星体。 Note:流星是一种天文现象，流星体是太阳系内，小至沙尘，大至巨砾，成为颗粒状的碎片。 Inner solar system 内太阳系，多指太阳、水星(Mercury)、金星(Venus)、地球和火星(Mars)。 Hot water system (task: find out the correct translation of the term) Asteroid belt (主)小行星带 The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets. The asteroid belt is also termed the main asteroid belt or main belt. Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) 近地小行星 近地天体(near-Earth Objects, NEO)的一种。NEO是是轨道距离地球轨道太近(最近距离1.3个天文单位)并因此有可能产生撞击危险的小行星、彗星以及大型流星体的总称。 天文单位(astronomical unit)，长度接近于日地平均距离。 He has long suspected that two different projectile populations have been responsible for cratering inner solar system surfaces. — (stellar) population 星族，指星系中在年龄、化学组成、空间分布、运动特性等方面相近的大量天体的集合。 Spacewatch 太空监测计划 SPACEWATCH? is