Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Comets “Dirty snowballs” Chunks of ice and dust whose orbits are usually very long, narrow ellipses Energy in the sun turns ice into gas, releasing dust Nucleus- inner layer of comet

Comets cont’d Coma- gas and dust outer layer Comets head- nucleus and coma Tail- gas and dust

Asteroids Chunks of planetary rocks Most revolve around the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter Area known as the asteroid belt

Meteoroids Chunks of rocks or dust in space Usually come from comets or asteroids

Meteors Meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, friction makes it burn up and produce a streak of light

Meteorites Meteoroid that enters the Earth’s atmosphere and strikes the surface A crater is left behind

Other objects A meteoroid that burns up in Earth's atmosphere is called a meteor. When a meteoroid is large enough, it might not burn up completely in the atmosphere If it strikes Earth, it is called a meteorite. Cool Fact: Most meteorites are probably debris from asteroid collisions or broken-up comets, but some originate from the Moon and Mars.