Near-Earth Objects Analysis - Essay Example

NEAR EARTH OBJECTS We all know that the gravitational attraction of the earth’s natural satellite, the moon, to our planet causes the sea to rise. However, the moon and its gravitational pull aren’t the only things that cause the face of the earth to change way outside the atmosphere. Comets and asteroids traveling through space have been placed into orbits within the Earth’s neighborhood because of the gravitational pull of nearby planets; these are called Near Earth Objects or NEOs. NEOs are said to have a distance less than 1.3 AU. NEOs are mainly asteroids (called Near Earth Asteroids or NEAs) and are located in a region called the asteroid belt which is between Mars and Jupiter. However, some asteroids which orbit near the sun can intersect with the earth’s path, and the results could vary from no-effect to catastrophic. What are asteroids, by the way? Asteroids are floating masses of rocks which can also have a mix of iron and nickel. These irregularly-shaped chunks which can range from boulder-size to that of our very own moon are, thanks to Jupiter’s massive size and pull of gravity, held near the huge planet and Mars. There are different classes or types of NEAs depending on their aphelion distance, perihelion distance, and semi-major axes, namely, Aten, Apollo, and Amor. To show their differences, here is a table from the Near Earth Object Programpage of the NASA portal (“Neo Groups,” NASA Portal): Group Description Definition NECs Near-Earth Comets NECs q Read More