115 For Further Exploration: Cosmic Samples and the Origin of the Solar System
Note: Resources about exoplanets are provided in The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets outside the Solar System.
Articles
Meteors and Meteorites
Alper, J. “It Came from Outer Space.” Astronomy (November 2002): 36. On the analysis of organic materials in meteorites.
Beatty, J. “Catch a Fallen Star.” Sky & Telescope (August 2009): 22. On the recovery of meteorites from an impact that was seen in the sky.
Durda, D. “The Chelyabinsk Super-Meteor.” Sky & Telescope (June 2013): 24. A nice summary, with photos and eyewitness reporting.
Garcia, R., & Notkin, G. “Touching the Stars without Leaving Home.” Sky & Telescope (October 2008): 32. Hunting and collecting meteorites.
Kring, D. “Unlocking the Solar System’s Past.” Astronomy (August 2006): 32. Part of a special issue devoted to meteorites.
Rubin, A. “Secrets of Primitive Meteorites.” Scientific American (February 2013): 36. What they can teach us about the environment in which the solar system formed.
Evolution of the Solar System and Protoplanetary Disks
Jewitt, D., & Young, E. “Oceans from the Skies.” Scientific American (March 2015): 36–43. How did Earth and the other inner planets get their water after the initial hot period?
Talcott, R. “How the Solar System Came to Be.” Astronomy (November 2012): 24. On the formation period of the Sun and the planets.
Young, E. “Cloudy with a Chance of Stars.” Scientific American (February 2010): 34. On how clouds of interstellar matter turn into star systems.
Websites
Meteors and Meteorites
- American Meteor Society: For serious observers
- British and Irish Meteorite Society
- Meteor Showers Online: By Gary Kronk
- Meteorite Information: A great collection of links for understanding and even collecting meteorites
- Meteorites from Mars: A listing and links from the Jet Propulsion Lab
- Meteors and Meteor Showers: From Astronomy magazine
- Meteors: A collection of articles on meteor observing from Sky & Telescope magazine
- Nine Planets Meteorites and Meteors Page
- Some Interesting Meteorite Falls of the Last Two Centuries
Evolution of the Solar System and Protoplanetary Disks
- Circumstellar Disk Learning Site: By Dr. Paul Kalas
- Disk Detective Project: The WISE mission is asking the public to help them find protoplanetary disks in their infrared data
Videos
Meteors and Meteorites
Meteorites and Meteor-wrongs: Video with Dr. Randy Korotev of Washington U. in St. Louis (7:05)
Rare Meteorites from London’s Natural History Museum: A tour of the meteorite collection with curator Caroline Smith (18:22)
Also see a short news piece about a martian meteorite: (2:54)
What Is a Meteor Shower (and How to Watch Them): Top tips for watching meteor showers from the At-Bristol Science Center (3:18)
Evolution of the Solar System and Protoplanetary Disks
Origins of the Solar System: Video from Nova ScienceNow narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson (13:02)
Where Do Planets Come From?: Public talk by Anjali Tripathi in March 2016 in the Center for Astrophysics Observatory Nights Series (56:14)