Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids

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What is a meteor?

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A chunk of rock that enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light in the sky.

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What is a meteorite?

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A chunk of rock that is not burned up by the atmosphere and hits Earth's surface.

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What is a comet?

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Chunks of ice and dust whose orbits are usually a long, narrow ellipse.

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What is the Kuiper Belt?

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A doughnut-shaped region of comets that extends from beyond Neptune's orbit to about 100 times Earth's distance from the sun.

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What is a coma in relation to a comet?

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Gas and dust form a fuzzy outer layer around a comet's head, called a coma.

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What is a meteoroid?

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A small rocky or metallic body in outer space, smaller than an asteroid.

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What is the difference between a meteor and a meteoroid?

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A meteoroid is a small rock or particle in space, while a meteor is the streak of light produced when a meteoroid burns up in Earth's atmosphere.

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What is an asteroid?

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A small rocky body that orbits the sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

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What is the Oort Cloud?

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A theoretical cloud of icy bodies that is believed to surround the solar system and is a source of long-period comets.

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What causes a comet's tail?

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A comet's tail is formed when it gets close to the sun, causing the ice to vaporize and dust to be released, creating a glowing tail.