Near-Earth Objects
Asteroids
Make Your Own Impact Crater
Ursula Marvin
Early Life
Ursula Marvin was born in Vermont, and grew up in New Hampshire, USA. She loved being outdoors but did not discover her passion for geology until she went to university to study history. She asked to change her degree major to Geology, but her professor refused and told her she should learn how to cook. Instead, Ursula took extra geology, maths and physics courses and went on to earn a PhD in Geology from Harvard University.
Year born: 1921
Research Areas: Meteorites, Moon Rocks
Solar System Quiz
A star system consists of a star and the objects that orbit it. A galaxy contains millions of stars and star systems. But how much do you know about our own Solar System? Take our quiz to find out!
Spotting an Asteroid in Observations
Even the closest asteroids are so far away that they look like "dots" in the night sky - just like stars! So, you might think it is very hard to spot them, even with a big telescope.
But unlike stars, asteroids are part of our Solar System and orbit the Sun. This means that, when observing over a relatively small amount of time, asteroids seem to move quickly across the sky while stars do not.