1. Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors

2. 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

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

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

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

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

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

8. 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.