Asteroids, meteors and meteorites

Asteroid: Big rock flying through space

Meteor: A rock burning up as it enters the atmosphere. Also known as a shooting star.

Meteorite: Parts of a meteor that made it all the way to the ground. Look out!

It was a long time before I really knew the difference between these things.

Published 10 Jun 2015

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The Goldilocks Zone

A lumpy asteroid at the centre of an expanding radius showing that it would get smoother and rounder as it gets larger

The potato radius

Common distributions: normal, skewed, pareto

The Goldilocks Zone is the range around a star that’s not too hot or too cold to support liquid water. Liquid water is vital to sustaining life like we have on Earth, so fortunately for us, Earth sits in the Goldilocks Zone. Consider the alternatives: If we lived too close to the sun, we’d roast. The average temperatures on Mercury and Venus are hot enough to boil water (and then some). And on Mars, the next planet farther out than Earth, the average temperature sits at -85 degrees F (-65 degrees C)— cold enough to freeze water solid. If you want to look for planets that might support life as we know it in distant star systems, looking for worlds occupying Goldilocks Zones is a promising start. This sketch, along with plenty of others in the "Starry-Eyed Surprises" section, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: Goldilocks Tasks Seasons Know your space objects: comets, asteroids, meteors, meteorites The potato radius…The Goldilocks Zone is the range around a star that’s not too hot or too cold to support liquid water. Liquid water is vital to sustaining life like we have on Earth, so fortunately for us, Earth sits in the Goldilocks Zone. Consider the alternatives: If we lived too close to the sun, we’d roast. The average temperatures on Mercury and Venus are hot enough to boil water (and then some). And on Mars, the next planet farther out than Earth, the average temperature sits at -85 degrees F (-65 degrees C)— cold enough to freeze water solid. If you want to look for planets that might support life as we know it in distant star systems, looking for worlds occupying Goldilocks Zones is a promising start. This sketch, along with plenty of others in the "Starry-Eyed Surprises" section, features in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures Also see: Goldilocks Tasks Seasons Know your space objects: comets, asteroids, meteors, meteorites The potato radius

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