Space Objects and Comets

Icy chunks of water and dust that originate in the outer Solar System. When they come near the Sun they vapourise, developing a bright tail. REASONS TO VISIT See the frozen relics of the formation of the Solar System Visit the Kuiper belt or the Oort cloud, where these icy chunks wander through outer space Examine their composition to see if comets brought life to Earth

The stones that fell to earth...meteorites. Genuine stones of meteoric origin...Moldavite, Tektite, Gibeon Meteorites. We also have minerals and fossils from around the world.

Giant Rotating Space Craft using a speed lever to reach (theoretical) light speed. Buildable with todays technique.

This website contains information relating to Space both factual ( Aliens, Constellations, Debris, Eclipses, End of the World, Living in Space, Ophiuchus, Pioneers, Planets ) and fictional ( Andromeda, Babylon Five, Battlestar Galatica, Buck Rogers, Doctor Who, Farscape, Red Dwarf, Space 1999, Space Above and Beyond, Starship Troopers, Star Trek, Star Wars and V ). It has been set up by an amateur astronomer who has no recognition in the scientific community.

An announcement was made on March 15 of the discovery of the furthest object so far seen in our solar system. The object, named Sedna, is estimated to be 1300 to 1800 km in diameter (Pluto is 2400 km in diameter). For more information, see the NASA Press Release

During the last few years it has become widely recognized that from time to time the Earth is hit by large objects from space. These are now known to be responsible for what are called 'extinction events' when most of the existing life forms went extinct suddenly. The Earth is traveling through space at quite high speed around the Sun and the Sun is orbiting the centre of the galaxy.

Comets are often described as "dirty snowballs" The Kuiper Belt and the more distant Oort Cloud are the solar system's two sources of comets Comets are solar-system leftovers that spend most of their lives far beyond the realm of the planets. We know about them because a few periodically visit the inner solar system, where they can decorate our night skies in spectacular fashion. Comet Hale-Bopp put on one of the best shows of this century in 1997.

Asteroids Asteroids are small, rocky objects which orbit the Sun along with all the other planets. They are also commonly called minor planets (and rarely as planetoids) because they are considerably smaller than ordinary planets. Astronomers estimate that there are more than 100,000 asteroids in our solar system although only about 8000 have been cataloged as of mid-1997.

Introduction to Comets: Comets have always captured the imaginations of humans. Probably because of their unexpected appearances, huge apparent sizes on the sky, mysterious and rapid motions about the sky, and, finally, their equally mysterious disappearances, civilizations have been awed and frequently terrified by comets. The history of our understanding of these fascinating objects is quite interesting. Somewhat surprisingly, in the last few decades, comets have taken on new meaning and increased significance in modern astronomy as well.

JPL's solar system dynamics WWW site provides information related to all known bodies in orbit around the sun. This site is maintained by the Solar System Dynamics Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The Nine Planets is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of each of the planets and moons in our solar system. Each page has text and images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information. All of the planets can be seen with a small telescope; most can be seen with binoculars. And large telescopes continue to provide much useful information. But the possibility of getting up close with interplanetary spacecraft has revolutionized planetary science. Very little of this site would have been possible without the space program.