Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
The origin of planetary impactors in the inner solar system
Robert G Strom1, Renu Malhotra, Takashi Ito
1Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
Abstract:
Insights into the history of the inner solar system can be derived from the impact cratering record of the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Mercury and from the size distributions of asteroid populations. Old craters from a unique period of heavy bombardment that ended approximately 3.8 billion years ago were made by asteroids that were dynamically ejected from the main asteroid belt, possibly due to the orbital migration of the giant planets. The impactors of the past approximately 3.8 billion years have a size distribution quite different from that of the main belt asteroids but very similar to that of near-Earth asteroids.
Related Concept Videos
Nuclear Fusion
A helium nucleus has a mass that is 0.7% less than that of four hydrogen nuclei; this lost mass is converted into energy during the fusion. This reaction produces about...
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Schwarzschild Radius and Event Horizon
The minimum speed required to launch a projectile from the surface of an object to which it is gravitationally bound so that it eventually escapes the object’s gravitational field is called the escape velocity. The escape velocity is independent of the mass of the object. Merging the idea of escape velocity with the...
Momentum And Radiation Pressure
Radiation Pressure: Problem Solving
The average value of the rate of momentum transfer divided by the absorbing area represents the average force per...
Impact: Problem Solving
By designating the launch point as the origin and utilizing kinematic equations, the vertical component of the projectile's velocity at the point of impact is...

