Lecture 42: Asteroids and Meteoroids

Asteroids are the leftover rocky materials from the formation of the

Solar System that reside mainly in a broad belt between the orbits of

Mars and Jupiter. Meteoroids are fragments of asteroids or bits of

debris from passing comets that occasionally pass through our atmosphere

as meteors, and even more rarely survive the fiery passage to reach the

ground as a meteorite. This lecture reviews the physical and dynamical

(orbital) properties of Asteroids and Meteoroids, and discusses the role

of Jupiter and orbital resonances in dynamically sculpting the Main

Belt. Recorded 2006 Nov 27 in 100 Stillman Hall on the Columbus campus

of The Ohio State University.