Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids

Front

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

Back

Meteor

Front

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

Back

Meteorite

Front

A chunk of rock or dust in space that comes from an asteroid or comet.

Back

Meteoroid

Front

A rocky object that revolves around the sun, but is too small to be considered a planet.

Back

Asteroid

Front

The craters on the moon were caused by the impact of ________________.

Back

Meteorites

Front

A chunk of ice and dust whose orbit is usually a long, narrow ellipse

Back

Comet

Front

The nucleus, coma, and tail are the three parts of a(n) __________________________.

Back

Comet

Front

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

Back

Coma

Front

Scientists hypothesize that the dinosaurs became extinct as a result of a large _______________ hitting Earth 65 million years ago.

Back

Asteroid

Front

As a comet approaches the sun, the gas and dust heat up and ____________________________.

Back

stream outward forming tails.