1. ES-3c Moons, Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors

2. Target I can analyze the difference between Moons, Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors I can compare Pluto to the other objects in the Kuiper Belt. I can explain why Pluto is no longer considered a planet.

3. Moons

4. What are they? Composed of Rock, similar to our Moon Some have atmospheres, most do not Various sizes, some large like our moon, some very small similar to asteroids. (Phobos)

5. Where are they? In orbit around most of the planets and dwarf planets Except for Mercury and Venus. Only three moons belong to the Terrestrial planets Jupiter has more than 60 moons by itself.

6. Asteroids

7. What are they?

8. Where are they?

9. Comets

10. What are they? Balls of ice and metal As they approach the sun, the ice is blown back into two tails. The tails always are angled away from the sun.

11. Where are they?

12. Meteors

13. Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite A meteoroid is a small solid particle that travels through space. Made of rocks, chunks of asteroids, etc. A meteor is a meteoroid that is falling through our atmosphere. Anything that falls at space speeds to Earth will burn up in our atmosphere. Any space junk could be a meteor! (bits of satellites, tools astronauts drop in space, etc.) A meteorite is a meteor that has actually hit the earth. Usually rock Satellites will occasionally fall back to Earth as well. (Skylab crashed back to Earth in 1979 hitting western Australia.)

14. Meteor Showers Occasionally, meteor sightings can reach 60 or more an hour. The Perseid meteor shower, which occurs each year around August 12th, may be the remains of Comet 1862 III https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=2EtnunYSK-0 https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=2EtnunYSK-0

15. Dwarf Planets Note the size of Ceres, a dwarf planet in the Asteroid belt. Size is to scale, distance is not. IAU= International Astronomical Union

16. Why called dwarf? Planets are small in size, similar to a moon. The orbits are not in the same orbital plane as the classic planets. Pluto was actually inside the orbit of Neptune 1979-1999. Similar to comets. Composed of ice, gas, and rock TNO, come from the Kuiper Belt. TNO= Trans Neptunian Object