NATURAL SATELLITES

Any natural heavenly body that orbits around a planet e.g. moon for earth, tritan for Saturn and triton for Neptune.

Asteroids/Planetoids

• Also called minor planets.
• Are small fragments of rocks left going around the sun when the solar system was formed
• Found between Mass and Jupiter
• Are 1500 in number
• They sometimes collide with each other and planets due to Jupiter’s gravitational pull causing them to move in erratic orbits.

Comets

• Heavenly bodies which appear to have a head and a long tail
• Made of ice, dust and frozen gas
• The head is made of many particles of dust, rock and frozen gases.
• Their tail is made of gases and points away from the sun.
• Move around the sun in extremely long and oval orbits
• Their orbits cross the earth’s orbits e.g. Halley’s Comet which appears after every 76 years.

 

Meteoroid

• Small heavenly body which strays from its orbit in the solar system and enters the earth’s atmosphere at very high speed.

Meteor

• A meteoroid which is burning out due to friction after entering the earth’s atmosphere.

Meteorite

• Remains of a meteoroid which have reached the earth’s surface or incompletely burnt up meteoroid.
• When they fall they sink into the ground forming craters
• They are rich in iron

 

The Moon

• A natural satellite
• Receives its light from the sun and reflects it onto the earth.
• It revolves around the earth
• Takes 29.5 days to complete one revolution around the earth
• Its orbit is almost circular
• As it revolves around the sun it appears in various shapes ranging from crescent/new moon, half moon, gibbons moon and full moon.
• Has gravitational pull which causes the rising and falling of the ocean level
• As the moon orbits around the earth it creates an event called eclipse.

Eclipse

-Phenomenon occurring when the rays of the sun are blocked from reaching the earth or the moon.

 

Solar/Sun Eclipse

• The moon comes between the earth and the sun
• The moon’s shadow is cast on the earth
• The

sun appears to be covered by darkness

 

Lunar/moon Eclipse

• The earth comes between the moon and the sun
• The earths shadow is cast on the moon

• The moon appears to be covered by darkness

 

See also

BUSH FALLOWING IN WEST AFRICA

MINING

MINERALS IN EAST AFRICA

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN FIELD WORK

MINERALS AND ROCKS