Astronomy Students Collect Micrometeorites (by Mr. Russ Glenn)
Students in my astronomy class estimated the number of micrometeorites found on the surface of the Earth based on data that they collected in class. Students worked in groups to select study areas and then collect and analyze sediment samples for the presence of micrometeorites.
Meteors (shooting stars) are small pieces of rock or dust that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. A meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the debris left over from a comet’s tail. A meteorite is a piece of rock or metal that makes it through the atmosphere and strikes the planet. Although meteorites vary significantly in size, micrometeorites are fairly common. This lab, part of the unit on comets, attempts to estimate the number of micrometeorites found on our planet based on samples collected by the students.
After collecting sediment samples, students utilized binocular microscopes to identify the micrometeorites. They can be identified by their spherical shape (see pictures).
Students found a total of 26 meteorites in the 22 m2 that were sampled. Based on this data, students determined that the Earth would have a whopping 6.027 x 1014 meteorites (around 600 trillion) on its surface!
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