Earth Impact
Earth Impact - Meteors, Meteorites & Craters
By Andrew
Each year, about 6,100 meteors from space hit the Earth and the Earth is impacted by an estimated 100 tons of dust every day. But what happens when it is not only dust hitting the Earth? What if it is a larger space rock?
Here is a slideshow. You can go through the slides and learn more about meteors.
This is a simulation about what meteorite impacts can do to the planet if they are big enough. Click the link, then enable flash in your browser. Enter different information about the asteroid you want to see impact the earth. The simulator will show you the damage, ejecta, and other data about the impact. Can you cause giant tidal waves? Can you melt the planet? Keep trying.
NASA's plan to save Earth from a giant asteroid
If you knew a giant meteor was headed to Earth and likely to impact, what would you do? This video gives some ideas of things NASA is considering to protect Earth from a devastating impact.
Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center (http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov)
