Howardites

A printable worksheet for the lesson Fireballs, camera networks and recovery (Adult). It prints on A4 without the website around it. The answers are on a separate sheet for the teacher.

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Adult · Adults; no background neededHowardites worksheet

Fireballs, camera networks and recovery

Name:Class:Date:

Key words

Fireball
A fireball is an extra-bright meteor, brighter than the planet Venus.
Dark flight
Dark flight is the last part of a meteorite's fall, after it has slowed down and stopped glowing.
Fall
A fall is a meteorite that people saw coming down and then collected.
Terminal velocity
Terminal velocity is the steady top speed an object reaches when air resistance balances its weight as it falls.
Fusion crust
Fusion crust is the thin, dark skin that forms on a meteorite as its surface melts during its fall.
Strewn field
A strewn field is the area of ground over which the pieces of a single meteorite fall are scattered.

Choose the right answer

Circle the letter of the right answer.

  1. Roughly how many falls a year do dedicated camera networks now help recover?
    • AAbout one a decade
    • BThousands
    • CSeveral
    • DAbout one a century
  2. What mainly makes a meteoroid so hot as it enters the atmosphere?
    • ASunlight focused by the atmosphere
    • BRadioactive decay inside the rock
    • CAir squeezed and heated in front of it
    • DFriction from the rock rubbing against the air
  3. Why do the fragments reach the ground at terminal velocity rather than at their entry speed?
    • ATheir crust acts as a kind of parachute
    • BThe air has slowed them to a steady fall
    • CGravity weakens close to the ground
    • DThey lose all their weight in the fireball
  4. Whom does the lesson advise you to contact after finding a fresh meteorite?
    • AA scrap-metal merchant
    • BAn auction house
    • CA jeweller or gem dealer
    • DA museum or university
  5. Why is a meteorite usually much smaller than the meteoroid that produced it?
    • AMost of its mass melted and was swept away
    • BMost of it bounces back into space
    • CIt loses mass by drifting in the wind
    • DIt shrinks a great deal as it cools after landing

True or false?

Is the answer given right? Tick True or False.

  1. Why did ordinary doorbell cameras help scientists recover the Winchcombe meteorite?

    Answer given: They gave views from many places to fix its path TrueFalse

  2. Why does a meteoroid often break into several pieces high in the atmosphere?

    Answer given: The air pressure on its front grows too great TrueFalse

Write your answer

Answer in a word or a short sentence.

  1. A friend's fireball note says only "bright, green, amazing". Which details are most needed?
  2. Scientists have a fireball's 3D path. Which calculation tells them where to search on the ground?
  3. What must you have before searching someone's land for fragments of a fall?

Task

Imagine you have just seen a fireball. Write a model report with every detail scientists ask for: time, place, direction, start and end points (as compass bearing and height above the horizon), duration, colour, fragmentation and sound. Then find the fireball reporting guide in this site's glossary and check what you missed.

Howardites · free to copy for use in your classroom · answers are on the separate teacher's answer sheet