The American Museum of Natural History

Ross Hall of Meteorites

1. What is a meteorite?______________________________________

2. What part of the universe do most meteorites come from?____________

3. What can meteorites possibly tell us about the universe?_____________

_______________________________________________________

4. What are irons, stones and stony-irons?_________________________

5. Why is Meteor Crater (The Barringer Crater) so important?___________

_______________________________________________________

6. What is the significance of shocked quartz?______________________

7. How long did it take for the Barringer Crater to form?_______________

8. About how long ago did the Barringer Crater form?_________________

9. What is the significance of the 1969 Allende meteorite?______________

_______________________________________________________

10. What are chondrules? ____________________________________

11. When and how did chondrules form?__________________________

12. What are CAI's?_________________________________________

13. Which form first - Chondrules or CAI's?________________________

14. What are nanodiamonds?__________________________________

15. What is the significance of the MIGHEI meteorite?________________

_______________________________________________________

16. What is the asteroid belt?__________________________________

17. Describe the KLEOPATRA asteroid.___________________________

_______________________________________________________

18. Why is the Earth's outer, molten core vital to sustained life on Earth?____

_______________________________________________________

19. Name the 2nd largest asteroid in the solar system._________________

20. How may asteroids be linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs? What is the evidence for this?_______________________________________

______________________________________________________

21. What are regmaglypts?___________________________________

22. Where is the oort cloud of comets and what is its significance?________

_______________________________________________________

23. Comparing the Earth and its moon, why does the moon reveal so many meteoric impacts whereas the earth does not?______________________

______________________________________________________

24. Give one theory of how our moon may have formed._______________

______________________________________________________

25. How long does a typical meteor travel through our atmosphere?_______

26. What is the approximate temperature of the leading edge of a meteor as it plunges through our atmosphere?_______________________________

27. What % of a meteor is estimated to melt away as it plummets through our atmosphere?______________________________________________

28. How much does Ahnignito weigh? How is it supported in the museum floor?___________________________________________________