4290345 unit 2

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School

Pennsylvania State University *

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Subject

Astronomy

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by MagistrateMonkey21102

4290345 After visiting an asteroid in the asteroid belt, I can say it was definitely an experience. I really wanted to visit since it’s something that people usually overlook when talking about the solar system. Everyone’s focus is always on the big and I guess more exciting planets, but there’s something fascinating about exploring the remnants of the creation of the solar system. In a way it’s almost like visiting the moon, the asteroids are mostly rock and ice just floating with nothing happening on or near them. Some of them have craters which makes them even more reminiscent of the moon or other planets like Mercury. Some of them were really boring but there was some that did have what I would consider a good composition. They had metals and other minerals but not just the boring ones that we have abundances of on Earth like iron and nickel, they can also have more precious ones like platinum or gold. If I had brought the right tools, I could have turned my exploration into a business venture and made some money. I didn’t stick to just one asteroid I tried to visit a bunch of them, not that I could really tell much of a difference between each one. The only immediate difference was the shape and size of the different ones. Being on them they all seemed the same, barren rocks with the occasional crater from some kind of impact. There was a bit of beauty being there, getting to look out and being able to see the rest of space in any direction was incredible. But it was also really cool to see the rest of the asteroid belt, it reminded me of the rings of Saturn but on a much larger scale. Being on each asteroid was scary in a way as well. Since they have so little mass (relative to Earth or other planets) the gravity was so low I was worried I might just fly off if I jumped too much. It makes sense that they aren’t large since it’s the leftover parts but just a bit scary while you’re on them. I think if I would have enjoyed staying on one asteroid for a while. Slowly moving around the solar system but still easily being able to look out and see the rest of the planets as they move would be really fascinating to see. While it’s nothing like the formation of the solar system it is fascinating to see the remains. The solar system plane is most obvious through the asteroid belt, since it is near a continuous ring it makes it simple to see how the solar system formed in a single plane around the sun. Overall exploring the asteroid belt was a fun and valuable experience. It’s always fun to explore something I’ve never had the opportunity to explore before. Maybe next time I’ll go out a little farther and explore the Kuiper belt, or the Oort cloud if I’m feeling really courageous.

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