Get up close to the cosmos

MARION — The Marion Natural History Museum will present "Asteroids, Meteors, and Cosmic Close Calls" on July 24 at 6:30 p.m., featuring Dr. Sarah Caudill, an astronomy professor at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The talk will cover where asteroids come from, how they differ from meteors and meteorites, and what scientists have learned from studying them. Caudill will also discuss a recent meteor explosion off the coast of Massachusetts as an example of how space objects interact with Earth's atmosphere.

Earth is regularly struck by material from space, ranging from small dust particles to asteroids the size of houses, most of which burn up in the atmosphere as meteors. Larger objects can produce a fireball and sonic boom.

Registration is required through the museum's website, marionmuseum.org.