Introduction

What would happen if a giant meteor hit the Earth? Would civilization as we know it continue to exist? Would the entire planet disintegrate as a result of the blast? According to scientists, an event like this is possible in the future. To be prepared for such a potential catastrophe, scientists are working with engineers to come up with solutions to prevent impact from happening.

The Earth already passes through the orbit of many comets and asteroids. Fortunately, no object of appreciable size has impacted the Earth in modern times. Our planet has been hit by these objects before however; evidence can be found in the craters that exist all over the world. It is thought that dinosaurs became extinct after a large meteor struck Mexico millions of years ago. If another impact as large as that one hit the Earth today, it would be just as devastating as it was then.

In this activity, we will look at the devastating effects of falling objects (similar to what we would see if a meteor hit the Earth). 

Introduction

Today we are going to make "moon craters." How do you think real moon craters are made? Moon craters are caused by the impact of large, heavy objects moving at high speeds. These objects are called asteroids.