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Asteroids' impact on Earth

Earth and environment Geography Science

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets, are rocky remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Find out how they reshaped the Earth here. (ACSSU115, ACSSU153, ACSSU180, ACSSU188)

Additional resources

NASA Science resources (external) Asteroid lesson plan (external) Teach Engineering resources (external) Scootle: ACSSU115 (external) Scootle: ACSSU153 (external) Scootle: ACSSU180 (external) Scootle: ACSSU188 (external)

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51:48 | Published 7 years ago

Asteroids

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For centuries asteroids have been ignored by science. The poor relation to the planets and even their icy cousins, the comets, asteroids were dismissed as boring. But all that is about to change. Scientists have made some very strange discoveries that could solve one of the greatest mysteries in science - how water arrived on Earth.

Physics

Community clip

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Brian Cox explores NASA's underwater training facility, where people are training to space walk on asteroids, and demonstrates how an asteroid might collide with Earth.

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44:33 | Published 7 years ago

How The Earth Was Made

Asteroids

A look at how asteroids played a role in the formation of the Earth; a study of how the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona was formed, and why little evidence remains of the meteor itself that created it.

Geography

49:30 | Published 4 years ago

Strip The Cosmos

Killer Asteroids

This episode strips apart remnants from the early solar system - asteroids - peeling back surfaces, slicing open craters, and exploding out rocks to explore the secrets that lie inside these miniature worlds.

Science

10:04 | Published 9 years ago

Spacefiles

Asteroid - Asteroids, Meteors And Impacts

Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter is the asteroid belt, a swarm of rocky bodies. Every so often, perturbed perhaps by the gravitational tug of Jupiter, asteroids collide and tumble towards the Sun. If they pass Mars, they can threaten Earth. 65 million years ago an asteroid impact most probably killed the dinosaurs. That threat from space continues. How do we protect our planet? To get to know our enemy, robot spacecraft visit asteroids.

Science

43:43 | Published 2 years ago

How the Universe Works

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Where did the Earth's oceans come from? For years, scientists suspected they came from molecules delivered to Earth from distant stars by asteroids.

Physics

44:57 | Published 2 years ago

The Known Universe

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The cycle of life and death for asteroids, comets, moons, planets, stars - even galaxies - is a lot bigger and more complex than you might think. Theirs are epic tales of death and rebirth.

Science

50:00 | Published 7 years ago

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Space may look very quiet and beautiful but looks can be deceiving. Find out how dangerous our violent universe really is with asteroids, comets, black holes and more we don't yet know.

Science

23:57 | Published 7 years ago

Scope

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From the Sun, to the planets, comets, asteroids and even the vast spaces in between our Solar System is swimming with science. And what better way to explore it all, than to take a trip around our celestial neighbourhood with Dr Rob.

Science

44:42 | Published 5 years ago

Inventions that Shook the World

1950s

From boats that float to boats that fly, it changed how we travel. From room-sized radios to one that fits in your pocket, it revolutionised electronics. And from anonymous asteroids whizzing through space to a man-made satellite orbiting earth, it opened the door to the universe. They're all inventions of the 1950s.

Design and technologies

42:04 | Published 8 years ago

The Universe

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Reveals the latest discoveries in the deadly world of asteroids. Will a recently returned Japanese spacecraft become the first to bring an asteroid sample back to our planet? What would happen to America's east coast if the massive asteroid impact that helped form Chesapeake Bay 35 million years ago struck today? And why did President Barack Obama choose an asteroid as the destination for the next great manned mission into space?

Science

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