Chamber theatre is a method of adapting literary works to the stage using a maximal amount of the

work's original text and often minimal and suggestive settings.

In chamber theater, narration is included in the performed text and the narrator might be played by
multiple actors. Professor Robert S. Breen (1909-1991) introduced "Chamber Theater" to his Oral
Interpretation Classes atNorthwestern University in 1947.[1]

Northwestern’s Professor of Performance Studies Frank Galati, who studied chamber theater with
Dr. Breen, has directed highly acclaimed chamber theater productions for the Goodman
Theater and Steppenwolf Theater companies in Chicago. Galati’s chamber theater adaptation
of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath won two Tony Awards on Broadway.[2]

One of the most famous and elaborate examples of chamber theatre is David Edgar's The Life and
Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, in which Charles Dickens' characters narrate themselves in third
person. Set pieces are carried in and taken away during the performance, rather than between
scenes, and objects may be represented in a mimeticmanner.[3]

TWO-mile asteroid which once

nearly killed woman to make close
approach TODAY
A giant potentially deadly asteroid, measuring up to 2.4 miles and which is believed to have
been the source of a meteor which hit and nearly killed a woman during a previous pass of
Earth, is hurtling this way at 36,000 miles an hour.
The Willamette Meteorite weighs 15.5 tons. This iron meteorite, which was found in
Oregon, is the largest ever found in the United States and the sixth-largest in the world.
The smooth surface melted during its blazing entry into the atmosphere, while the pits
formed on the Earth's surface.
Iron meteorites form when large enough asteroids have had molten interiors
catastrophically collide with other asteroids. These huge collisions blast out material
from the molten iron core of the asteroid on orbits that reach Earth after millions of
years.

Comets are fascinating celestial objects that have frightened and delighted stargazers
throughout history.

There's a lot we don't know about these icy visitors, but here's the breakdown of what
scientists have confirmed or strongly suspect about the different types of these so-
called "dirty snowballs."

What defines a comet?

A comet is an icy ball of frozen gas, rock and dust that orbits the sun in an elliptical
path. When closer to the sun in orbit, the comet's nucleus releases gasses, which form
a coma (the comet's fuzzy, glowing halo) and a tail. So, when a comet is far away from
the sun, it would not have a tail. Debris left behind from a comet's tail is what causes a
meteor shower.

PHOTO BREAK: How much do you know about the moon?

Comets are thought to have formed 4.6 billion years ago, when the solar system was
young and just after the planets formed. Because comets are so old, scientists believe
they might hold the solutions to puzzles about the nature and evolution of our solar
system.

This illustration shows comets racing toward the star Eta Corvi. One comet is depicted crashing into a rocky body, flinging

ice- and carbon-rich dust into space and smashing water and organics into the surface of the planet. (Image: NASA/JPL-

Caltech)

What are the different types of comets?

The classification of comets is an ongoing process. Comets can be distinguished by
their orbits, which vary wildly. A comet can be either a long-period comet or ashort-
period comet, depending on whether its orbit is shorter than 200 years. Long-period
comets are on paths that take them out past the solar system's planets before they
return.

Scientists suspect that long-period comets originated in the Oort Cloud — located on
the edge of our solar system — whereas short-period comets broke free from the Kuiper
Belt, Pluto's home. Objects can break free from these areas when gravitational changes
occur.

For example, Comet Hyakutake, seen in 1996, is a long-period comet. According to

SPACE.com, "It will be a long, long time before Hyakutake makes the journey near
Earth again; one NASA prediction from 1996 said it would be 14,000 years before the
comet arrives again, but accounts vary due to the uncertainty of predicting the comet's
trajectory."

Halley's Comet is a famous example of a short-period comet with an orbit of just 75 or

76 years. Speaking of Halley's Comet, there are thought to be two subgroups of short-
period comets, Halley-type comets and Jupiter-type comets. According to Swinburne
University in Australia, the difference between these two types of comets is that Halley-
type comets have orbits that are "highly inclined to the ecliptic" and likely come from the
Oort Cloud, whereas Jupiter-type comets are more affected by the gravity of Jupiter and
originate from the Kuiper Belt. This suggests that long-period comets could become
short-period comets depending on how planetary gravity shapes their orbits.

But wait, there are more kinds to know about

Single-apparition comets are thought to be comets that are not bound to the sun and
can travel out of the solar system.
Sungrazing comets are often ill-fated comets that suffer from an Icarus problem. They
are classified as comets that travel within 850,000 miles of the sun, and some of these
comets burn up entirely. The Kreutz Group is a subgroup of sungrazers. According to
NASA, "Many sungrazing comets follow a similar orbit, called the Kreutz Path, and
collectively belong to a population called the Kreutz Group." NASA suspects that the
comets currently on the Kreutz Path originated from a single comet that broke up long
ago.

Dead comets, such as the recent and incorrectly named "Spooky" asteroid, are comets
whose gasses have burned up. They have no tails.

Exocomets are comets that exist outside of our solar system. According to
SPACE.com, scientist have identified several of these orbiting the star Beta Pictoris.

How many comets are out there?

The short answer is a whole bunch. The vast majority of them have never been seen
from Earth. According to the ESA, "There are thought to be so many comets that even
astronomers can’t count them all … "

While a comet might be a rare sight in the skies, they're overall quite well represented in
space. Imagine the tales these icy long-tailed objects could tell, as they high-tail it
through space.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/what-are-the-different-types-of-comets

REF: Mother Nature Network

There are millions of space rocks swirling around the solar system, most of them in
the asteroid belt, but many others much closer to Earth’s orbit. If you’ve been following
astronomy and space news, you’ve seen these rocks called many things, and it might
not be entirely clear what the differences are between meteors, asteroids, meteorites,
comets and meteoroids. If that’s the case, here’s a short primer to set you straight.

Meteor

Let's begin with the one that you’re likely to have seen with your own eyes. A meteor is
a light phenomenon caused by a meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere and
vaporizes as the air’s friction makes it rapidly heat up. The rock is the meteoroid (more
on that below), and the light produced as it passes through the atmosphere is the
meteor. In other words, it’s a shooting star.

Below is the famous Perseids meteor shower photographed from Black Rock Desert in
Nevada. This image is actually many photos merged together, showing 29 meteors:

Meteoroid

The meteoroid is the source of the shooting star before it enters Earth’s atmosphere.
Most are about the size of a pebble, with some as big as a meter in diameter. They’re
usually rocky or metallic, and they are often pieces of bigger asteroids or comets.
Meteoroids between 10 microns and 2 millimeters are usually called micrometeoroids,
and anything smaller than that is just space dust. (NASApoints out that every day, Earth
is bombarded with more than 100 tons of dust and sand-sized particles.)
Meteorite

A meteorite is a meteoroid that doesn’t entirely disintegrate as it falls through the

atmosphere and lands somewhere on the planet’s surface. There are three kinds of
meteorites: stony meteorites, iron meteorites (usually composed of iron-nickel), and
stony-iron that contain a mix of both. About 94 percent of meteorites are stony, and 6
percent are are mix of iron or stony-iron.

Below is an iron meteorite:

Here is the inside of a beautiful stony-iron meteorite composed of yellow-green olivine

crystals encased in the iron-nickel matrix:
Asteroid

Technically, asteroids are minor planets orbiting the sun. There are millions of them,
mostly of rocky composition and located in the asteroid belt between Mars andJupiter.
They have neither the characteristics of full planets (not large enough to be rounded out
by their own gravity) or comets (more on that below). They vary in size from 1,000
kilometers to 10 meters in diameter. “If you only consider those larger than 100 meters
orbiting within the inner solar system, there’s over 150 million. Count smaller ones and
you get even more,” writes Universe Today.

In the future, when humanity starts sending astronauts to other planets and maybe even
builds bases there, some think that asteroids could serve as "gas stations in space."
 The

asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter is clearly visible in white. (Photo: Wikipedia)

This amazing video by astronomer Scott Manley shows known asteroids in the solar
system over time. Even if you don’t take the time to watch the whole thing, just have a
quick look: Note the year in the bottom left corner and then jump forward near the end
of the video to see the difference in the number of known objects orbiting the sun. Also
note that the red dots are asteroids with orbits that come close to Earth.

Comets
Comets are icy bodies (rocky, metallic or both) that, when close enough to the sun, heat
up and partially vaporize, creating a small atmosphere of dust and gas that is
sometimes visible as a tail. They often have elongated elliptical orbits that will bring
them closer to the sun for a while and then away from it for a long time. Some of these
orbits last many years, some even millions of years. The most famous comet isHalley’s,
which is visible to the naked eye from Earth every 75-76 years. The comet's visits have
been documented since 240 B.C., including by medieval observers. Don’t hold your
breath waiting to see it, though, as it was last in the inner solar system in 1986 and
won’t be back until 2061.

Here's a photo of Halley's comet taken in 1986:

Halley's comet will only come back in 2061. (Photo: NASA)

Isn't it beautiful? Too bad it comes around these parts so rarely.

http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/space/stories/meteor-asteroid-comet-whats-difference

Orbits of inner planets are shown as large circles in this computer-generated snapshot of actual known objects as of
July 20, 2002. Green dots represent asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Red dots are asteroids that
stray out of the main belt and pose a small but known possible risk of hitting Earth.

Credit: MPC, CBAT, Harvard CfA, IAU

Scattered in orbits around the sun are bits and pieces of rock left over from the dawn of
the solar system. Most of these objects, called planetoids or asteroids — meaning "star-
like" — orbit between Mars and Jupiter in a grouping known as the Main Asteroid Belt.
The Main Asteroid Belt lies more than two-and-a-half times as far as Earth does from
the sun. It contains billions — maybe even trillions — of asteroids. Most of these are
relatively small, from the size of boulders to a few thousand feet in diameter. But some
are significantly larger.

Origin

Early in the life of the solar system, dust and rock circling the sun were pulled together by
gravity into planets. But Jupiter, the largest planet, kept a number of the pieces from
coalescing into another planet. Instead, its gravity disrupted the formation process,
leaving an array of unattached asteroids.

Asteroid Belt: Facts & Formation

By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com Contributor | June 11, 2012 05:51pm ET

Kuiper Belt Objects: Facts about the

Kuiper Belt & KBOs
By Nola Taylor Redd, Space.com ContributorJanuary 22, 2016 01:06pm ET

Beyond the gas giant Neptune lies a region of space filled with icy bodies. Known as the
Kuiper Belt, this chilly expanse holds trillions of objects, remnants of the early solar
system. Dutch astronomer Jan Oort first proposed in 1950 that some comets might
come from the the solar system’s far suburbs. That reservoir later became known as the
Oort cloud. Earlier, in 1943, astronomer Kenneth Edgeworth had suggested comets and
larger bodies might exist beyond Neptune. In 1951, astronomer Gerard Kuiper predicted
the existence of a belt of icy objects that now bears his name. Some astronomers refer
to it as the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt.

Astronomers are now hunting for a planet in the Kuiper Belt, a true ninth planet, after
evidence of its existence was unveiled on Jan. 20, 2016. The so-called "Planet Nine,"
as scientists are calling it, is about 10 times the mass of Earth and 5,000 times the
mass of Pluto.

Let's take a closer look at this distant section of the solar system and the small worlds
most commonly known as Kupier Belt Objects (KBOs) and, in recent years, dwarf
planets.
This artist's impression shows the distant dwarf planet Eris in the distance with its moon Dysmonia in the foreground.
New observations have shown that Eris is smaller than previously thought and almost exactly the same size as Pluto.
Eris is extremely reflective and its surface is probably covered in frost formed from the frozen remains of its
atmosphere. Dysnomia appears to be a darker and less reflective body.

Kuiper Belt facts

Artist's concept of the dwarf planet Haumea and its two satellites (Hi’iaka and Namaka).

Credit: SINC/José Antonio Peñas

The Kuiper Belt is an elliptical plane in space spanning from 30 to 50 times Earth's
distance from the sun, or 2.5 to 4.5 billion miles (4.5 to 7.4 billion kilometers). The belt is
similar to the asteroid belt found between Mars and Jupiter, although the objects in the
Kuiper Belt tend more to be icy rather than rocky.
Scientists estimate that thousands of bodies more than 62 miles (100 km) in diameter
travel around the sun within this belt, along with trillions of smaller objects, many of
which are short-period comets. The region also contains several dwarf planets, round
worlds too large to be considered asteroids and yet not qualifying as planets because
they’re too small, on an odd orbit, and don’t clear out the space around them the way
the8 planets do.
Kuiper Belt formation

When the solar system formed, much of the gas, dust and rocks pulled together to form
the sun and planets. The planets then swept most of the remaining debris into the sun
or out of the solar system. But bodies farther out remained safe from gravitational tugs
of planets like Jupiter, and so managed to stay safe as they slowly orbited the sun. The
Kuiper Belt and its compatriot, the more distant and spherical Oort Cloud, contain the
leftover remnants from the beginning of the solar system and can provide valuable
insights into its birth.

The classical Kuiper Belt — the most crowded section — lies between 42 and 48 times
Earth's distance from the sun. The orbit of objects in this region remain stable for the
most part, although some objects occasionally have their course changed slightly when
they drift too close to Neptune.

Kuiper Belt Objects

This artist's impression shows the distant dwarf planet Eris. New observations have shown that Eris is
smaller than previously thought and almost exactly the same size as Pluto. Eris is extremely reflective and
its surface is probably covered in frost formed from the frozen remains of its atmosphere. The distant Sun
appears to the upper right and both Eris and its moon Dysnomia (center) appear as crescents.

Credit: ESO/L. Calçada

Pluto was the first true Kuiper Belt Object to be seen, although scientists at the time
didn't recognize it as such. The existence of the belt wasn't realized until scientists
discovered a slow moving, small world in the outer solar system in 1992 (David Jewitt
and Jane Luu found the KBO, 1992QB1.). Other objects soon followed, and
astronomers quickly saw that the region beyond Neptune teemed with icy rocks and tiny
worlds.

Sedna (sed’nah), about three-fourths the size of Pluto, was discovered in 2004. It is so
far out from the sun it takes about 10,500 years to make a single orbit. Sedna is about
1,100 miles (1,770 km) wide and circles the sun on an eccentric orbit that ranges
between 8 billion miles (12.9 billion km) and 84 billion miles (135 billion km).

In July 2005, astronomers announced the discovery of an object in the Kuiper Belt
thought to be larger than Pluto, though subsequent observations revealed it was slightly
smaller. Known as Eris, it orbits the sun approximately once every 580 years, traveling
almost one hundred times farther from the sun than Earth does. Eris' discovery revealed
to some astronomers the problem of terming Pluto a full-scale planet, and in 2006,
Pluto, Eris, and the largest asteroid Ceres were reclassified as dwarf planets. Two more
dwarf planets, Haumea and Makemake, were discovered in the Kuiper Belt in 2008.

Planet Nine

Planet Nine orbits the sun at a distance that is 20 times farther out than the orbit of
Neptune. (The orbit of Neptune is 2.7 billion miles from the sun at its closest point.) The
strange world's orbit is about 600 times farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit is
from the star.