world development and scientific research

  A Meteor Shower: What Is It? You won't need a telescope, binoculars, or a tall mountain to have a "star gazing" party if a meteor shower is a forecast. A warm sleeping bag and an alarm clock to wake you up in the middle of the night can be necessary. The best place to watch a show, though, is simply by lying down in your own backyard. Meteors A meteoroid is a space rock that enters the atmosphere of Earth. The air on the space rock creates drag, which causes it to heat up as it falls toward Earth. A "shooting star" is what we can see. The glowing hot air that can be seen as the hot rock flies through the atmosphere, not the rock itself, is what is causing that light streak. We refer to a meteor shower as the simultaneous collision of several meteoroids with Earth. Why would there be a lot of meteoroids hitting Earth at once? Comets orbit the sun in a similar manner to Earth and the other planets. The orbits of comets are typically very lopsided, in c...

Why Do Craters Exist on the Moon? Because Earth is far larger than the Moon, a meteoroid has a larger area to impact, increasing the likelihood that it may collide with the planet. On the other hand, we only know of roughly 180 craters on Earth but we can see thousands on the Moon! How come? In actuality, during the course of their lengthy 4.5 billion-year histories, both the Earth and the Moon have been struck numerous times. Where did all the craters on Earth vanish? The primary distinction between the two is that Earth possesses mechanisms that may virtually completely wipe out any traces of previous collisions. Moon doesn't do that. On the Moon's surface, very much any small ding will remain there. Earth's surface is kept clear of craters thanks to three mechanisms. The first one is known as erosion. Plants, water, and weather all exist on Earth. Together, these cause the ground to deteriorate and disintegrate. Over time, erosion can reduce a crater to almost ...

  Orbits 'R' Us! The speed of the Earth's rotation from west to east at the equator  is 1675 km/h (1041 mph). The satellite receives a significant boost if it is launched in the same direction as Earth's rotation. It cannot benefit from this boost whether it is launched in the north or south. It also consumes a lot of fuel for the spacecraft's engines to alter the inclination, or tilt, of the satellite's orbit if it is launched toward the east. An orbit around the poles is highly inclined. The function of the satellite will determine which orbit is best. suspension of disbelief For instance, the two GOES* weather satellites are tasked with monitoring the weather across North America. Any developing situation, such as tropical storms forming in the Atlantic Ocean or storm fronts moving across the Pacific Ocean toward the west coast of the United States, must be "never taken their eyes off." They are, therefore "parked" in an orbit know...

  What exactly is a terrestrial planet? Terrestrial, or rocky, planets include Earth, Mars, Mercury, and Venus in our solar system. Terrestrial planets are those outsides of our solar system that range in size from half to twice the radius of Earth, and some may be even smaller. Super-Earths are exoplanets that are twice as big as Earth and larger. Earth-sized and smaller terrestrial planets are rocky worlds made of rock, silicate, water, and/or carbon. It requires more research to discover whether some of these worlds contain atmospheres, oceans, or other indications of habitability. Super-Earths are larger terrestrial exoplanets that are at least twice as massive as Earth. Learn about some planets that are on Earth. TRAPPIST-1 e                                     TRAPPIST-1 d Terrestrial planets typica...