Howardites
Junior Scientists · Ages 9–11

Space Rocks You Can Touch

A meteorite guide for junior scientists

Corvanelle Publishing

Most meteorites are 4,567 million years old, older than any rock on Earth. This book explains how a space rock crosses the atmosphere at up to 72 kilometres a second, how meteorites are classified, how half-lives date them, and how scientists proved that some come from the Moon, Mars and Vesta. It covers crater formation and the Chicxulub impact, famous falls from Ensisheim to Winchcombe, hunting on Antarctic ice, telling meteorites from meteor-wrongs, Murchison's amino acids and the Bennu samples. Worked examples, quizzes, a gazetteer and a full glossary.

  • 30,925 words
  • About 175 pages
  • 22 chapters
  • Ages 9–11
£5.99

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. The Solar System's Small Bodies
  3. Asteroids
  4. Comets and Meteor Showers
  5. Into the Atmosphere
  6. Fireballs, Dark Flight and Fusion Crust
  7. Sorting Meteorites
  8. The Oldest Things You Can Hold
  9. Melted Asteroids and Iron Meteorites
  10. Rocks from the Moon
  11. Rocks from Mars
  12. Vesta and the HED Meteorites
  13. How Craters Form
  14. Chicxulub and the End of the Dinosaurs
  15. Famous Falls
  16. Meteorites in Britain
  17. Hunting on Ice and Sand
  18. Is It a Meteorite?
  19. Murchison and the Chemistry of Life
  20. Working with Space Rocks
  21. Gazetteer of Notable Meteorites
  22. Glossary