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Doomsday Asteroid, The
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Viewing Ideas
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Before Watching
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The day before you plan to show this program, assign an
observation project to the class: Have students spend 15 minutes
looking for lights and moving objects in the night sky late in
the evening and note anything they observe. The next day, ask
students to share their observations. Ask if students have ever
seen a meteor, also known as a shooting star. Shooting stars are
more frequent in January, April, May, July, October, and
December.
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Ask students to describe some of the theories they have heard
for why dinosaurs became extinct. What evidence would they need
to support or disprove these theories? Some students may be
familiar with the theory that an asteroid or comet struck the
Earth and that the resulting atmospheric effects led to the
extinction of dinosaurs. Encourage students to note the methods
and observations of the scientists investigating this theory in
the program.
After Watching
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After watching the program, review some of the findings of
scientists who have studied the effects of asteroids or comets
that have hit the Earth. Based on the students' pre-viewing
discussion about the extinction of dinosaurs, what evidence do
they feel the program presents to support or challenge the
theory that the atmospheric effects of an asteroid or comet
striking the Earth caused the dinosaurs' extinction? What other
theories about asteroids and comets does the program present?
What clues and observations led the scientists to develop these
theories?
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Two types of technology are presented in this
program—equipment for locating objects that are on a
collision course with Earth and military equipment that might be
adapted to prevent such a collision. However, some of the
scientists featured in the program express doubts and concerns
about the dangers of people having access to technology with the
destructive force necessary to break up or divert asteroids and
comets. Ask the students to share their thoughts about the
possible uses of this technology.
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