Meteorites, Sir Francis Drake and submarines

 

What's the difference between a meteor and a meteorite?

I asked this question on arriving at my MOJ class. I had seen a bright light falling through the sky (it wasn't 8am yet and so it was still dark). It was too big and too close to be a shooting star. It must have been a meteor. Or maybe a meteorite.

José, the boffin in our class, gave an explanation; but I did a little research myself.

I found this question:

What is the difference between a meteor, a meteoroid, a meteorite, an asteroid and a comet?
Most of us probably have seen meteors or shooting stars. A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere. "Meteor" refers to the flash of light caused by the debris, not the debris itself.
The debris is called a meteoroid. A meteoroid is a piece of interplanetary matter that is smaller than a kilometer and frequently only millimeters in size. Most meteoroids that enter the Earth's atmosphere are so small that they vaporize completely and never reach the planet's surface.
If any part of a meteoroid survives the fall through the atmosphere and lands on Earth, it is called a meteorite. Although the vast majority of meteorites are very small, their size can range from about a fraction of a gram (the size of a pebble) to 100 kilograms (220 lbs) or more (the size of a huge, life-destroying boulder).
Asteroids are generally larger chunks of rock that come from the asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Comets are asteroid-like objects covered with ice, methane, ammonia, and other compounds that develop a fuzzy, cloud-like shell called a coma and sometimes a visible tail whenever they orbit close to the Sun.
 

I understand the answer but it leaves me puzzled as to what I saw in the sky.  It can't have been a meteorite like the one that landed in Russia last year, otherwise we'd have heard about it. Whatever it was, it looked pretty big to me.

Maybe it was a UFO.





 

Was Sir Francis Drake a pirate?

I can't remember why Francis Drake came up in class. Mari Carmen and José Luis called him a pirate. I can't remember ever having heard him called that so I did a bit of research.

Sir Francis Drake, vice admiral (c. 1540 – 27 January 1596) was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Drake carried out the second circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580.
Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He died of dysentery in January 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico.
His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque. King Philip II was said to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4 million by modern standards, for his life.

So it seems that he is referred to as a pirate in Spanish classrooms but he is called a privateer in England.  In reality, the actions of a pirate and a privateer are the same.







Were there any submarines in World War One?

When telling me about their history lesson on World War One, Ínes and Alicia talked about the role of submarines. I doubted that they had played any part in the war. I was never very good at history. So hands up girls - you were right and I go to bottom of the class.

Military submarines first made a significant impact in World War I. Forces such as the U-boats of Germany saw action in the First Battle of the Atlantic, and were responsible for the sinking of RMS Lusitania, which was sunk as a result of unrestricted submarine warfare and is often cited among the reasons for the entry of the United States into the war.
At the very outbreak of war Germany had only 20 submarines immediately available for combat, although these included vessels of the diesel-engined U-19 class with the range (5,000 miles) and speed (eight knots) to operate effectively around the entire British coast. By contrast the Royal Navy had a total of 74 submarines, though of mixed effectiveness. In August 1914, a flotilla of ten U-boats sailed from their base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea in the first submarine war patrol in history.
The U-boats' ability to function as practical war machines relied on new tactics, their numbers, and submarine technologies such as combination diesel-electric power system developed in the preceding years. More submersibles than true submarines, U-boats operated primarily on the surface using regular engines, submerging occasionally to attack under battery power. They were roughly triangular in cross-section, with a distinct keel to control rolling while surfaced, and a distinct bow. During World War I more than 5,000 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats.
 


Comments

Hilde said…
Hi Graham :-)
It 's Hilde
I've read 3 articles. Very interesting!
About pirates I read an article, 4 or 5 years ago, that explain diferent meanings of words how pirata-corsario -filibustero..... I think Drake was a "corsario" because hi was payed by his governement to attack other boats
See you
Graham said…
Hi Hilde,

Did you hear of anyone else who saw a bright object fly throught the sky on Thursday morning?



I read an article about pirates 4 or 5 years ago, that explained different meanings of words like pirata-corsario -filibustero..... I think Drake was a "corsario" because hi was payed by his government to attack other boats.


So Drake was a privateer.

Roberto said…
I found these three articles very interesting... But the "Shall we dance" video,is to much for me!.
Graham said…
Roberto,

Aren't musicals your cup of tea?

At least you might remember how to use "shall" because of the video :-)
Roberto said…
I didn´t know that expression,I like it... And yes,the most important thing is remember how to use "shall",it´s only I´m not crazy about musicals.
Graham said…
Roberto,

Musicals aren't really my cup of tea either.

I've been to two.

I was dragged along to see Les Miserables when I was in London many years ago.

I remember quite enjoying it.

A couple of years ago, I was dragged along see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Raincoat.

I didn't like that one at all.



... the most important thing is to remember how to use "shall",it´s just that I´m not crazy about musicals.


Roberto said…
I have a question: is it right the expression "It´s not my type",when you don´t like the look of someone?.
Anonymous said…
Hi Graham! It's Marta!

My first comment! I've read the three articles, and found them quite interesting.

See you at 4!
Graham said…
Roberto,

If you someone is not your type, you don't find them attractive.

I have a question: Is the expression "He/She´s not my type" right? Does it mean you don´t find them attractive?

If you don't like the look of stg /sb, you don't trust it/them in some way.

See you tomorrow.
Graham said…
Hi Marta,

Welcome to the blog. I hope that you find it useful.

Remember that you don't just have to do the latest posts. Explore the blog to find things of interest to you.

See you tomorrow.
José said…
A Greek philosopher, called Anaxágoras, of the VI century before Christ, said that the seed of everything there is in everyplace. Afterwards, other thinkers have considered that the life came to the Earth from another place away the Solar System. When the Solar System made, the old Earth was bombarded by a meteorites, an asteroids and a comets, 4.550 years ago. These celestial bodies brought organic molecules to the Earth. It´s possible the life has come from the outer space. According with the panspermia theory the life came with the meteorites and the comets. Also, the seeds of the Earth will travel by all galaxies. The whole Universe is
full of debris, pebbles and boulders. Everything is similar.

Hey Graham, I think like Anaxágoras, the life and the seeds are in everyplace.


P. S. Boffin is everyone which wants to know.
Graham said…
José,

I like contemplating the night sky but I will never understand talk about what goes on up there.



A Greek philosopher called Anaxágoras, from the VI century before Christ, said that the seed of everything can be found everywhere. Afterwards, other thinkers have considered that life came to Earth from another place outside of the Solar System. When the Solar System was created, the old Earth was bombarded by meteorites, asteroids and comets, 4.550 years ago. These celestial bodies brought organic molecules to the Earth. It´s possible that life came from outer space.

According to the panspermia theory, life came with the meteorites and the comets. Also, the seeds of the Earth will travel through all galaxies. The whole Universe is full of debris, pebbles and boulders. Everything is similar.

Hey Graham, I think like Anaxágoras, life and the seeds are everywhere.


P. S. A boffin is anyone who wants to know.



José said…
Hi Graham,

After one year of our conversations about meteor, meteoroid, asteroid and comet, it’s necessary talk about the last spatial events. As you know, on 12 November 2004, Spatial Europe Agency (ESA) sent Rosetta, a space probe, to the comet “Chury”. It was near to this comet around ten years with its landing module called Philae. On 12 November 2014, Philae arrived at surface of the comet 67P Churiumov-Guerasimenko. This event was enormous success for ESA and European citizens. It was a historic moment because it was first time that human being came at comet.

Although it was little mistakes, the astronomers have studied, first time, the way of comet approaching to the sun. We can see how the atmosphere of comet is. We have discovered that this comet has molecules of oxygen. The astronomers confirmed that “Chury” has got organic compounds which are precursors of life. Philae sent information about its ground and it send images from comet “Chury”.

I think life is everywhere, again.

See you.

José.
Graham said…
Hi José,

In fact, our conversation was around 2 years ago. Where does the time go?


One year on from our conversations about meteors, meteorites, asteroids and comets, it’s necessary to talk about the latest spatial events. As you know, on 12 November 2004, European Space Agency (ESA) sent Rosetta, a space probe, to the comet “Chury”. It stayed near this comet for around ten years, along with its landing module called Philae. On 12 November 2014, Philae landed on the surface of comet 67P Churiumov-Guerasimenko. This event was an enormous success for ESA and European citizens. It was a historic moment because it was the first time that humans were able to catch up with a comet.

Although there were a few mistakes, for the first time, astronomers studied the way a comet approaches the sun. We can see what the atmosphere of a comet is like. We have discovered that this comet has molecules of oxygen. The astronomers confirmed that “Chury” has got organic compounds which are precursors of life. Philae sent information about its ground and it also sent images from comet “Chury”.

Once again,I think life is everywhere.


Have a read of this artice about "Chury" (the name is funny):

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/aug/06/rosetta-spacecraft-rendezvous-rubber-duck-comet-67pcg


Gus said…
I think that Anaxágoras goras is quite possibly right.
Graham said…
Gus,

Quite possibly.