Collision Course: Jupiter’s Impact on Earth
In Collision Course: Jupiter’s Impact on Earth, Professor Brian Cox explains what happened when an asteroid from the asteroid belt that is influenced by Jupiter split off and hit Earth. Watch how a small change millions of miles from Earth makes a dramatic impact on our planet. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Brian Cox’s Adventures in Space and Time, a series that seeks to explain our place in the Universe. Professor Brian Cox looks back on decades of discovery and toward the next frontier in space, pondering the question: What’s next?
Lesson Express
Q: How has Jupiter influenced life on Earth?
A: Jupiter’s gravitational influence has launched asteroids that have hit Earth and made animals go extinct.
Q: What does it mean that the asteroid belt has “structure”? What influences the asteroids’ structure?
A: The asteroid belt is not asteroids floating randomly in space; they are organized and move together. Jupiter gives the asteroids their structure and orbit.
Q: Thinking about this video, what was most surprising to you?
A: Student responses will vary.
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In Intelligent Life: Is It Out There?, Professor Brian Cox explains what happened when complex life developed and what this means for the search for life beyond Earth. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
In Mercury: A Planet Exposed, narrator Professor Brian Cox highlights the brutal environment of the smallest planet in our Solar System. Its small size meant Mercury didn’t have enough gravity to hang on to its atmosphere. Without the protection of even that thin line of gas, temperatures fluctuate from 842°F (450°C) during the day to -290°F (-180C) degrees at night on the rocky planet. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Planets, a series that explores the dramatic lives of the eight planets in our Solar System.
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