Terms in meteor astronomy, history and methods of observations, formation of meteoroid streams, shower and sporadic activity, physics of meteoroid interaction with the atmosphere, nature of meteor emission, basics of spectroscopy and physical properties of meteoroids. Meteorites – statistics, atmospheric interaction. Light, sound and impact effects. Classification, stony, stony-iron and iron meteorites. Antarctic meteorites, Slovak meteorites. Meteorite ages. Meteoritic craters. Differentiation between meteorites and terrestrial minerals.
Outcome:
Students will learn the physics of the meteoroid interaction with the atmosphere, origin and formation of meteoroid streams, history and methods and analyses of meteors, nature of meteor emission and physical properties of meteoroids. They will also learn about light, sound and impact effects of meteorite falls, their statistics, classification, chemical and mineralogical composition, structural properties, and ages. After completing the course, students will be able to perform basic analysis of meteors and meteoroids, to classify different types of meteorites and distinguish them from terrestrial rocks and materials.
