REX'S EMAIL about METEORITES, COMETS & ASTRONOMY |
In a message dated 4/12/98 16:38:43, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, my name is Cody from New Mexico. How are you? We are fine. I have a questin for this month contest. You know how there are lots of planets and stuff out in space. Lots of galaxys to. We have a place matt with this galaxy on it. My Mom told me that there are lots of other galazys in space to. My questin is are there other people in the other galaxys to? Dad says that may be there are some other people just like us there who do the sme things we are doing now. Do you think so? May be that is who the aliens are when they come here in their sausers. I'm so glad you are still here. Moms computer broke and lost all information so we lost your email address and every thing. I'm learning a lot in school and my spelling is better now. thanks Rex. By, Cody from New Mexico>>
Hello again Cody, my friend,
There are MANY galaxies that we know of in the Universe, and some of them may have planets. Scientists have discovered some planets within out own galaxy already.
Yes, there may be extraterrestrials more or less like us, but not necessarily exactly the same, living on those planets. IF flying saucers do exist, they may come from one or more of these far away planets.
BUT there is NO PROOF that intelligent life on some other planet does exist! My friend, Sonny, has always wanted to meet one though!! Can you imagine the technology that they might have that would benefit mankind?
IF they do exist, some day we may be contacted by them. That would be real fun, supposing that they were totally peaceful, and NOT like the ones in that stupid "Mars Attacks" movie!!
REX
In a message dated 29/11/98 21:41:29, you wrote: <<Hi Rex! My name is Will. I live in MS, USA. I love your site. Tell all the beanies hi. I will be 8 in december and I am in second grade. Today in school we talked about black holes in space that pull stars and stuff in. I was just wondering where the stars go. Do you know? I asked my sister and she said that no one really knows but lots of poeple have ideas about it. Do you have an idea? Also what makes the satars and stuff get sucked in? My teacher said it was like a big vacum. And one more thing I love beanie babies. I was wondering if royal blue babies like peanut are so expensive because of the pretty color? If that's true then which other ones are royal blue so I can try and get them? PS You don't have to answer them all if you don't have time. I'll understand if you only answer one. My sister says you may be busy. Thank you soooo much. I hope you pull Glory or Peace out for me. Love, Will->>
Hello Will,
Black holes have a VERY strong attractive field of some sort (magnetic? gravity?) and seem to "suck in" whatever is near the funnel-shaped "mouth", sort of like a whirlpool. Wise thinks that antimatter is somehow connected with them, and that when matter and antimatter come into contact, the matter disappears in some mysterious way.
Black holes are theoretical, so it's anybody's guess what they actually do and why.
NO, my Royal Blue Peanut pal says that she costs so much to adopt NOT because of her nice color BUT that not too many were cloned, making her VERY rare. A lot of "rare" things seem to cost a lot, like very old Teddy bears or Tiffany glass lamps.
REX
In a message dated 7/9/98 17:08:15, you wrote:<<Dear Rex, Hi Rex! How are you today? My name is Katie and I am 7 years old. I live in Florida. I love your page. It teachs so much. I love this contests too. I just started second grade and we are in a space unit. I have a question. How do you we know that all these planets and star excitist. I have asked people before but all they have given me were big words I didn't understand. I mean I know the 9 planets and the Astrobelt (I was astrod #1 in a play) but is there more? Thank you for your time. I love beanie babies. and I love you but you cost more then my 3$ allowence. I would also like to thank my sister right now for helping me type and word this. Thank You Katie >>
Hello Katie,
Scientists ONLY believe what they can see and measure. To actually see these planets outside of our Solar System, they use really big telecsopes and take hundreds of photos of different parts of the sky.
When they put one photo on top of another, a star will always be in the same place BUT a planet will seem to move slightly from where it was in another pic.
In the 28 September of Science News, a kewl science news magazine that comes out every week, scientists have already discovered 12 planets that are not in our solar system. Peace found a website that has info on these planets "The Extrasolar Planets". Check it out-- it is way kewl!!
Princess said to say hello to you and your sister.
REX
In a message dated 21/7/98 22:52:20, you wrote: <Hi Rex, My name is Erin and I love beanies! I have a friend who lives in Australia. Over there they are always a day ahead of us [like if it is Saturday here it would be Sunday there] and they are eighteen [18] hours ahead of us also. Does this happen because the world is always spinning? Thanks so much for your time. Sincerly, Erin Hanley>>
Hello Erin,
We on Earth tell time by the Sun and its apparent movement across the sky. It is called "Sidereal Time". This movement is actually the result of the Earth spinning from West to East on its imaginary axis.
Noon, any place on the planet, is when the Sun is at its highest point above the horizon AT THAT PLACE. Since Australia is on the other side of the Earth, they have "night" when we have daylight, and visa-versa.
REX
In a message dated 8/7/98 03:53:24, you wrote: <<Hello Rex, I have a question I was hoping you could help me with... I've been hearing an awful lot about meteors lately, and I even saw the movie "Deep Impact" with my family. Now that "Armegeddon" is out, it's really got me worried that the world might just someday be faced with a situation like in both of those movies- a huge meteor is heading towards earth and, if it strikes, it will destroy all life on earth. (Kind of like what happened with a lot of your dinosaur friends, right Rex?) I was wondering how likely that is to occur- and within what time frame. The moon is so full of craters... why isn't the earth? Sometimes I feel lucky because we don't get bombarded with meteors like the other planets! And... why is it that we are so LUCKY? Sorry to ask so much- it's just that I never thought about the possibility of life-threatening meteors... it's scary! Thanks a million Rex! =) ~ Shelby P St. Charles, Missouri>>
Hello Shelby,
The Earth is constantly being bombarded with meteorites. Most of them are microscopic, but tons of them reach the planet every day.
Sonny rarely takes us to the movies, so I have not seen the two you mentioned.
YES, it is possible that a comet or meteorite could strike the Earth. There is NO time frame, but the government has recently formed a scientific study group to chart the paths of the hundreds of planetesimals, meteors and comets that they can see hoping to be able to predict any possible hazard.
It is doubtfull that ALL life would die out, even if some enormous visitor from outer space did hit the Earth.
The Moon is full of craters caused by hits of whatever. So is the Earth, only they are sometimes difficult to recognize because they are filled with water, completely under water, or are so old that they have been largely covered with other sediments and rocks.
I don't find it scary at all. The possibility that our planet would be hit by some object from space is extremely small. The chances are even less than those for winning the infamous Powerball Lottery!!
REX
In a message dated 4/6/98 02:43:25, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, When the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs hit could some water dinosaurs have lived? I mean like could the water have slowed the shock wave or somethin'? ~Emily, Florida>>
Hello Emily,
WOW, you seem to think a lot about all the different possibilities. My human friend, Sonny, always does that too. When he had physics in high school the teacher was saying that the speed of sound in air is a certain velocity. Sonny raised his timid hand and asked, "But, what if the day was very foggy. That would mean that the air had a very high water content. Would the speed be the same then?" The teacher told him to shut up!!
Sound and other vibrations travel much differently in water than they do in the air, depending on the depth, density and temperature of the water.
Certain lazy fishermen drop explosives from a boat into a lake to stun the poor fish, which float to the surface and can be picked up sort of easily. It is illegal but is is done!!
Probably the same thing would have happened to my dinosaur relatives.
REX
In a message dated 1/6/98 19:05:36, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, My name is Stephanie. I am 8years old and I live in Pennsylvania. In my Brownie troop we did a try-it about space. It was really fun,but it got me thinking about living in space. Do you think that one day people will really live on another planet. And how will they travel there? I hope to hear from you. I love beanies. My mom is trying to get me all of them to put away. They are so cute. Thank you, Stephanie.>>
Hello Stephanie,
WOW, you are interested in Space. YES, scientists will live and do their studies outside of the Earth within the next 10 years, BUT it will probably be on a Space Station circling the Earth, and on the Moon for starters. It takes less time to get there, is much easier to do and would cost a lot less.
The rockets we have now could do the job, but maybe there will be some new ion or gravity propulsion types in the future that would be better.
REX
In a message dated 2/5/98 07:59:27, you wrote: <<Hi Rex, My name is Cassandra, im 9 yrs old and from Missouri. My question is how did the universe form? I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you for answering my question. Take Care. Love Cassandra >>
Hello Cassandra,
No one "knows" exactly how the Universe formed, simply because there were no humans living at the time. For hundreds of years great thinkers have asked the same question.
Some scientists think that it began from some mass of very dense compacted atoms that exploded all of a sudden. They call this the "Big Bang Theory". After the explosion the elements flew out in all directions from the center of the bang, and due to gravitational and other forces, stars and even planets formed. According to this idea, the Universe is still expanding and spreading out into nowhere.
REX
In a message dated 16/4/98 20:50:49, you wrote: <<Hi Rex! My name is Robyn and I'm l0 years old. At school I just did a report on craters on the moon (my mom helped me find out the information from the Internet!) and found out that the craters are caused by meteors. But I couldn't find an answer to my own question about what happens to the meteor once it hits the spot and makes the hole? Does it break up into pieces? Or does it sort of get pulled back up? Where does the meteor go? Thanks, Rex! I have more Beanie-type questions, too, but I'll wait until nextmonth to send you those! Love, Robyn from Boardman, Ohio>>
Hello Robyn,
You have to make a distinction between "meteor" and "meteorite".
Spunky told me that a meteor totally burns up as it enters the Earths atmosphere. A "meteorite" is a meteor that actually reaches the planets surface.
On the Moon there is very little "atmosphere" so he thinks that, at least there, the both names would be the same thing! This gets complicated when we use words with special meanings!! Perhaps "LUNARITE" would be a better term.
When a meteorite strikes either our planet or its only natural satellite it explodes and is broken up into many fragments, some small and some much larger. These pieces are scattered over many miles if the visitor from outer space is very big.
The Earths gravitational field is so strong that the fragments would usually not have enough velocity to be shot out into space again. Hundreds of meteorites are discovered every year.
BUT since the Moon has very little gravity, it is probable that some impact fragments might even be able to leave the Moon and reach the Earth because of their speed. One such specimen was actually discovered in Western Australia about 23 years ago!!
REX
In a message dated 18/3/98 13:02:42, you wrote: <<Hi Rex! In the news lately they have been talking about a meterorite that might hit the earth in about 30 years. With all the the meterorites out there, how do they know that this one might or might not hit the earth? Could they even tell where it would hit? Danny , 13 years old, New Jersey>>
Hello Danny,
What was in the newspapers was not just a "meteorite", it was an asteroid which is a little larger! Asteroid 1997 XF11, is expected to come rather close to the Earth in the year 2028!
After the first announcement they did some more calculations and discovered that it would NOT be coming close enough to hit the Earth!
If they couldn't even figure out its correct path, I doubt that they could tell where it might have hit. So don't worry about it. Peace says there are enough things to think about other than some hunk of rock that shouldn't hit us!
REX
In a message dated 13/3/98 17:10:43, you wrote: <<Why do we live on earth and not on some other planet? Why does it have to be the 3rd planet from the sun?>>
Hi,
I had to ask Magic about your question because she has been to some of the other planets and knows more about them than I do.
She said that Venus, the 2nd "Rock from the Sun" has a lot of gasses that made it very difficult for her to breathe. Mars, the next planet out is much too dry, is colder and has a lot of dust storms and all, and she did not like it very much.
The Earth is the only planet in our Solar System that has just the right temperature, water, and the atmospheric gases in the right amounts for the plants and animals to live. There might even be other planets in other Solar Systems that are similar to ours, and there could even be life on them too. Maybe you will discover one of them!
REX
In a message dated 4/3/98 03:20:04, you wrote: <<Hello Rex How many metorites have names, Why doesnt Mr.Ty tell people who they are going to retire, and Why is Mr.Ty making beanies and seeling them to stores in batches of 12 knowing that people are going to sell them for alot of money, I wish I can win the beanie but I probaly wont I only have 14 beanies and cant get any more because my mom wont buy me any. Eric, Fort Dodge Iowa. >>
Hello Eric,
Most meteorites have the name of the place where they were found.
Father Ty likes kids to be surprised when my Beanie friends retire. I like surprises, don't you?
Beanies usually come from the cloning labs in plastic bags of 12 because they are easier to pack and count that way. Many times adoption centers receive many sets of 12 of one kind in one shipment.
Some Official Adoption Centers such as Zany Brainy and Spain's only charge the normal $5-6 adoption fee, but other ones may charge whatever they want to. You should check out different ones to see where they are less expensive.
REX
In a message dated 15/2/98 00:27:43, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, On a lot of future-based TV shows and movie (like Star Trek), they have spaceships going at warp. What exactly is Warp? How fast is it? How fast do our spaceships go, compared to warp? Michelle Connecticut >>
Hi Michelle,
"Warp" means at the speed of light, which is about 186 miles a second in a vacuum.
When the Star Trek ships travel "at warp" they are actually moving at or faster than the speed of light. Apparently they are able to twist the dimension of Space somehow and even travel through time at those velocities!
Mystic said that she tried it once and saw all kinds of strange lights, and she felt as if she was very light and glowing. It was scary.
Earth based shuttles and rockets do not move anywhere even close to that fast. They only need enough force to overcome the Earth's gravitational pull when they "lift off". And once they are actually in space where there is very little gravity, the energy they need to move is relatively little.
REX
In a message dated 24/1/98 19:54:39, you wrote: <<Rex, Do you think there are other solar systems that are too far away for scientists to study, and intelligent life. Just think they might be so advanced they know how to hide their solar system from us! Wow! I want to study that when I grow up!! >>
Hello,
Magic, who has flown all through the Universe, tells me that there are many "other" solar systems out there, and that there is even "intelligent" life in some of them.
No, they are not hiding themselves, it's just that we don't have the ability to find them and comunicate with them yet. Maybe you will be the one to do it! That would be kewl!!
REX
In a message dated 20/1/98 03:16:02, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Hi! My question is: was it really a meteorite that destoyed the dinosaurs? If not, what are some other possibilities? If so, where did all the dinos go? Did they just fly into space or what? Thanks, Chrissy>>
Hello Chrissy,
No one really knows what killed not only the dinosaurs but also many other forms of life at the end of the Cretaceous period. NO scientist was there to see what happened and all they can do is look at the evidence from the rocks, sort of like a detective, and try to figure out what occurred. You and all kids are also just like a scientist because you ask questions about many things and try to figure out the answer from what you already know.
There are rocks just above the dinosaur layers that contain minerals that are sort of rare and that suggest that they might have been formed by the explosion of a comet or something.
My poor relatives didn't go anywhere-- they just died here on Earth-- that's why their bones are found all over the world.
REX
In a message dated 18/1/98 03:36:44, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Who thought up the idea that the sun, and all the other planets, revoved around the Earth? Why?>>
Hello,
Jade Teddy tells me that the first "scientists" lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, a lot of them in caves, and they did just what little kids (and scientists!) still do today, they looked around themselves and asked all kinds of questions about what they saw. They probably "thought up" the idea that the Earth was the center of the Universe. BUT they did not leave any "writing" that tells us that. They did know about Moon phases and all because they left some bones with lines on them that scientists think show the times for planting crops and that sort of thing.
After tens of thousands of years man learned to transmit what he knew through simple yet complicated writing such as cuniform, and civilizations developed, with large cities and vast empires. This is when the "natural philosophers" wrote studies on their observations and thoughts about the planets (or "wanderers" as they called them) and how the Universe was connected to man. They taught that, since man was the most important thing they could see, then everything else had to revolve around him and the planet he lived on. It was the simplest and most logical explanation they could find. Spatial mathematics and geometry was still being developed.
Then, as even today, new equipment was invented and constantly improved to study the Universe much more exactly. The telescope, for example, came hundreds of years later. And mathematics became more developed and complex, and orbits for the planets could be calculated and stuff like that.
I had no idea that JT was so up on these things, did you?
REX
In a message dated 17/1/98 23:29:40, you wrote: <<Hiya Rex!! I am studying constellations and the stars in science. I was wondering if you could help with with this question, how does the tilt of the Earth's axis, combined with the Earth's revolution, cause the occurence of the seasons? Please let me know asap if you can help me!! Thanks!! Natalie>>
Hello Natalie,
Magic, who has flown around the Earth a lot tells me that if you look at the Earth from outer space it sort of spins or rotates like a top does when it sort of tilts to one side.
Now imagine that you are the Sun. While your top is spinning you are lighting and warming the part of the top pointing towards you the most That would be summer in that part of the top-world, in Illinois for example, where Father Ty lives.
When the top tilts away from you most of your heating rays are toward the bottom of the top. That would be winter in New York, for example, and summer in, say, Australia.
You mentioned "revolution", which means the path the Earth has around the Sun in a sort of squashed circular orbit called an ellipse. This revolution has nothing to do with the seasons that I or Peace can think of. As a matter of fact when it is summer in New York the Earth is farthest away from the Sun! And during the winter we are closer to it. WOW, that sounds like a contradiction! The seasons are caused not by the Earths revolution in its orbit BUT rather by its tilted rotation on its imaginary axis, and which half or hemisphere is titled most toward the Sun.
REX
In a message dated 16/1/98 01:59:49, you wrote: <<Dear Rex, Here's another question. How many planets do you think there are. (maybe if people think there are)? Brittany>>
Hi again Brittany,
Why don't you save some questions for the other 11 months left in this year? You can enter each month and get another chance to win a Beanie.
In our solar system there are 9 planets that scientists know about. Some think there might be a 10th further away than Pluto.
There are probably thousands and thousands of planets in the entire Universe, a bunch even like the Earth, with some kind of life and all. And, who knows, there may even be other Beanie relatives out there somewhere!
REX
In a message dated 14/1/98 04:50:16, you wrote: <<Hello, Rex! I was told that you knew a lot about meteors and comets- so maybe you can help me! I have two questions: Why are meteorites more likely to land on certain places of Earth than other places? I watched a show once where scientists searched for small meteorites in the Antarctic snow a few times a year! My other question is: How can you tell a regular rock from a meteorite? I hope you can help Rex, thanks a million! Anita >>
Hello Anita,
Meteorites can land absolutely anywhere on the Earth and even the Moon and other planets, not only in certain places. They are simply easier to see on snow or glaciers because they just look different in color.
Most of the time you cannot tell the difference between a meteorite and an ordinary rock. Some meteorites have a lot of iron in them and are attracted to a magnet. So if you were in a desert where there is only white sand, you could 1) use a metal detector like the treasure hunters do, 2) just look for something that doesn't look like white sand, or 3) drag a big magnet through the sand.
Other meteorites, the tectites, are made of something similar to glass, and are usually blackish or even green.
There are other kinds of meteorites, the stony ones, that look just like ordinary rocks, so you would have to study a lot of them to be able to pick them out. You can see pics of some of these kinds on my friend Sonny's meteorite pages.
Teddy tells me that you can do a science project to find your own micrsocopic meteorites by putting a shallow wide pan with a 1/4 inch layer of glycerine in it on a flat part of your roof (away from trees and all). After a month bring it in and take the pan with that sticky liquid to your science class and use a microscope to look for very small rounded dark color things. A lot of them will be tiny meteorites!
REX
In a message dated 7/1/98 23:34:49, you wrote: <<I was wondering, is there MORE pressure here or LESS pressure here than in space? If there is more pressure here than why is it that you would blow up in a sence, if you took your helmet off in space? I was just wondering for a project I'm doing on 'What It Would be like to live in Space' Thanks, Lauren >>
Lauren,
Now you are almost getting too complicated for a poor little dinosaur! I had to call in my pal Spooky, who is out of this world, to help me with this one.
There is more pressure on the Earth than there is in plain ole empty outer space. It is caused by the miles of air pressing down on us, and we call this push "atmospheric pressure". It is measured in a UNIT they call millibars, and you can always see them talking about it on the TV weather reports. High pressure usually means nice weather, and the opposite, low pressure, might mean a storm or something.
When the astronauts live in space in their nice and cozy shuttle they have air pumped in and the cabin is pressurized, just like in an airplane, so it is almost like being at ground pressure. Have you ever flown in a plane?
That's because humans were born in the pressure of Earth and they need it to live. Magic sometimes flys his Beanie pals way up high around the world, but we don't worry about pressure and all that stuff. A Beanie life is way different from a human one.
Spooky said for you to do an experiment, just like other scientists do : take a balloon with a little air in it to science class and ask your science teacher to put it in one of those big glass jars attached to a pump that takes the air out of the jar. Watch what happens to the balloon. That is what would happen to you in space without a pressure suit and helmet on.
REX
In a message dated 2/1/98 17:40:54, you wrote: <<What did it look like when the meteor hit and why didn't you get hurt .... Did any one you know die? How did you meet Bronty?>>
Hi,
My Dad and a bunch of us left before the comet hit, so I can't describe it to you. Since we were in that cave and had no contact with the outside, I really don't know if any of our friends died.
Bronty and I were pals from way back-- I met him while swimming in a big lake-- but the lake isn't there any more. He is always here watching me answer my emails-- and he said to tell you "hello".
REX