Many of us are familiar with ‘shooting stars’ streaking across the night sky and then fading into the blackness. These celestial fireworks known as meteors, result from the destruction of tiny fragments of natural space debris hurtling through the upper atmosphere.
Some of the larger objects fall to Earth to become meteorites, which can then be recovered and studied in more detail providing clues to the origin and evolution of the Solar System.
As part of the Western Australian Museum’s The Harry Butler lecture series: In the Wild West, Dr Alex Bevan, head of Earth and Planetary Sciences at the Museum, will explore where meteorites come from, what they are made of, and how the materials formed.
“Of the planets in the Solar System, Earth is geologically the most active, so we are very interested to understand the kinds of original materials from which the planet was made,” Dr Bevan said.
Dr Bevan said to get an idea of the Earth’s origin scientists can examine meteorites and determine their composition.
“The materials that make up many meteorites are more than 4.56 billion years old and some of these materials appear to have remained relatively unaltered since their formation.
“Like messengers across space and time, meteorites carry a unique record of the birth and early evolution of the Solar System,” he said.
Meteorites can be classified into three main kinds: fragments of rock (stony meteorites), metal (iron meteorites) and mixtures of rock and metal (stony-iron meteorites). They are essentially debris left over from the formation of planets and as such can reveal a lot about the nature of the infant Solar System.
Dr Bevan will also examine some of the remarkable discoveries in this field made over two centuries of scientific enquiry.
Dr Bevan is an Honorary Research Fellow at UWA, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Imaging and Applied Physics at Curtin University.
The lecture is part of The Harry Butler lecture series: In the Wild West which is proudly presented by the WA Museum in partnership with Chevron Australia. The series showcases the work of Museum scientists, curators and associates in the areas of natural and social sciences.
Lecture: Clues to the origin and evolution of the Solar System
When: Friday 21 October 2011, 12:30pm
Where: Western Australian Museum – Perth
Bookings Essential: www.museum.wa.gov.au/inthewildwest
Cost: By gold coin donation.
Flora Perrella, Western Australian Museum T. 9212 3856 M. 0424 027 646
