Tektites, like obsidian, are a naturally-occurring glass formed from molten rock. But tektites are often dumbbell or figure-8-shaped because they form in midair from spinning bits of fluid sent skyward Keep reading
Tag: meteor
Understanding Meteorite Geometry
Back in February 2013, the skies over Russia were lit by the fall and explosion of a large meteor. The scavenger hunt for meteorite pieces that followed turned up lots of Keep reading
Prehistoric Seiche
Sixty-six million years ago, a meteorite impact in modern-day Mexico wiped out the dinosaurs and most other living species of the time. To call the event catastrophic feels like an Keep reading
Exploding Meteors
During the recent Perseid shower, photographer Petr Horálek caught an awesome timelapse of an exploding meteor and the vortex ring it created. This is a type of persistent train left when meteors Keep reading
Meteoroids
Meteoroids are debris from earlier eras in our solar system. They can be leftovers from planets that never formed or remains of ancient collisions. When these bits rock and metal Keep reading
Break-Up of the Chelyabinsk Meteor
In 2013, a meteor about 20-meters in diameter broke up over Chelyabinsk, Russia in a dramatic display that damaged buildings within 100 km and injured more than 1200 people. To Keep reading
The Chelyabinsk Meteor
In February 2013 a meteor streaked across the Russian sky and burst in midair near Chelyabinsk. A recent Physics Today article summarizes what scientists have pieced together about the meteor, Keep reading