Homework 1: Impacts and cratering in the Solar System

(due at the start of class on the 13^th February 2003)

1. The University of Maryland, in collaboration with NASA, is leading the “Deep Impact” space mission. Log onto the web-site for “Deep Impact” (http://www.ss.astro.umd.edu/deepimpact ) and write a short (<1 page) description of this space mission. In particular, address the following questions:
1. What is Deep Impact going to do to Comet 9P/Tempel 1?
2. What are the scientific questions that the scientists hope to answer?
3. When will it be launched, and how long will the mission survive?

2. The picture below shows a portion of the Moon’s surface containing both Maria and Highlands
1. Identify which region corresponds to the Maria and the Highlands.
2. Maria have been dated at 3.2-3.9 billion years old, whereas Highlands are a little bit older, 4-4.4 billion years old. However, the Highlands are much more heavily cratered. What implications does this have for the bombardment history of the Moon? How does this fit in with our ideas of Solar System formation?

3. Calculate the energy and momentum of the following objects. Compare and discuss your answers to parts (a) and (c).
1. A 1000 kilogram car traveling at 10 m/s.
2. A 1 kilogram basketball traveling at 20m/s
3. A 1 gram rock traveling at 10,000m/s