Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors Science 5 Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

Comets “dirty snowball” About the size of an Earth mountain Chunks of ice, dust Orbits are long, narrow ellipses

Comets Inner layer called the nucleus Outer layer called coma The coma and nucleus make up the brightest part, the head Solar winds push gases from a comet away from the sun creating the tail

Asteroids Too small and too many to be called planets Most revolve around sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter – the asteroid belt Some come near the orbit of earth

Meteors Meteoroid - A chunk of rock or dust in space Usually come from comets or asteroids When a meteoroid enters Earth’s atmosphere, friction makes it burn up and produce the streak of light you see in the sky – a meteor

Meteors If the meteoroid is too large and does not burn up it may pass through Earth’s atmosphere – meteorites Craters are caused by meteoroids

Review 1. What is gravity? 2. How does your weight on Earth compare with your weight on the moon? WHY? 3. Inertia is ………. 4. Orbit is ………… 5. Why can astronauts jump higher on the moon rather than on Earth?

6. What causes the seasons? Use a diagram to explain your answer. 7. What causes day and night? 8. revolution is………… 9. rotation is …………….. 10. The pull of gravity depends on ____ and _________.

11. Why do the planets stay in orbit? 12. List the phases of the moon in order starting with the full moon. 13. What 2 time periods do we mark by the completion of all the moon phases. 14. Compare waxing and waning. 15. Name 2 types of eclipse. How are they different?

16. What causes tides? 17. How do we observe objects in space? 18.Name the planets: inner and outer 19. How are the inner planets different from the outer planets? 20. Compare our moon and a satellite.

21. Compare comets, meteors, meteorites, asteroids.