COMET CRAZE
Comets are balls of ice and rock shooting through space at thousand of miles an hour, leaving behind specks of ice and dust that sparkle in the sun. That’s what gives comets their white “tail.” We don’t see comets very often, because they’re spread out all over faraway space. But just last week, not one but two comets zoomed right past Earth! On March 21 comet 252P/LINEAR flew by 3 million miles away. That sounds like a lot, but it’s only 14 times as far as the Moon — not very far compared to all of space. The next day another comet, 2016 BA14, zoomed by just 2.2 million miles away, or only 9 times as far as the Moon. That’s the closest comet flyby in almost 200 years! Next comet up: December 2016.
Wee ones: 252P was the 5th closest comet flyby ever! How many comets have come closer?
Little kids: If your rocket can hop to the Moon in 1 jump, and you’ve made 7 moon-jumps so far, how many more do you need to reach a comet 9 moon-jumps away? Bonus: If the 1st comet flew by on March 21 and the 2nd comet came the next day, what was the date for the 2nd comet?
Big kids: If you could ride a 10,000-kilometre-an-hour comet, how far you could fly in 10 hours? Bonus:Our Moon is about 240,000 km away. How long would it take you to ride your comet there?
Wee ones: 252P was the 5th closest comet flyby ever! How many comets have come closer?
Little kids: If your rocket can hop to the Moon in 1 jump, and you’ve made 7 moon-jumps so far, how many more do you need to reach a comet 9 moon-jumps away? Bonus: If the 1st comet flew by on March 21 and the 2nd comet came the next day, what was the date for the 2nd comet?
Big kids: If you could ride a 10,000-kilometre-an-hour comet, how far you could fly in 10 hours? Bonus:Our Moon is about 240,000 km away. How long would it take you to ride your comet there?
Answers:
Wee ones: 4 comets, including the one the very next day!
Little kids: 2 more jumps. Bonus: March 22.
Big kids: 100,000 miles. Bonus: 24 hours, or exactly 1 day!
Little kids: 2 more jumps. Bonus: March 22.
Big kids: 100,000 miles. Bonus: 24 hours, or exactly 1 day!