Comets, Asteroids, & Meteors

Comets,

Asteroids, &
Meteors

Can you identify these celestial objects?

COMETS

• Comets come from regions of space very

far from the heat and radiation of the
sun.

• Comets are made of frozen matter

while asteroids are rocky fragments.

COMETS

and its parts

COMETS

• Comets are actually dark and invisible. When

a comet is near the sun, it becomes visible
because tails are formed

• When a comet is approaching the sun, its ion

tail is behind it but when it is moving away
from the sun, its ion tail goes ahead of it.

Kuiper Belt
& Oort Cloud

Halley’s Comet

• The most famous comet of the 20th century.
• Only known short-period comet
• It takes 75-79 years for Comet Halley to

orbit the Sun

*Long-period comets take 200 to hundred millions of
years to complete their orbit around the Sun.

Asteroids

• Asteroids originate from the Main

Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.

• This belt is theorized by scientists to be

remnants of a planet that did not
completely form.

Asteroids

• The orbit of an asteroid is more rounded

and less elliptical than the orbit of a comet.

• The asteroid Ceres was discovered in 1801

by Guiseppe Piazzi; it is the largest asteroid.

Asteroids

• Asteroids are made of rocks, ice,

carbon, silica and different metals.

• Asteroids are also called minor planets

or planetoids.

Asteroid Belt

Multiple Choice

The largest asteroid in the asteroid belt is _______. (Also known as a Dwarf Planet)

• Ceres
• Eris

• Mars

• Pluto

COMETS AND ASTEROIDS

• Comets and asteroids are referred to by

astronomers as Near-Earth Objects (NEO).

• Comets are icy bodies or objects while

asteroids are rocky fragments.

• Comets and asteroids are remnants from the

formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years
ago.

Comparison of some characteristics of

comets and asteroids

Characteristics

Comet

Asteroid

Origin

Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud

Main Asteroid Belt

Shape

Varied/Irregular

Varied/Irregular

Size range of
diameter (kilometer)

1-10 (nucleus only)

1-100 ++

Chemical
composition

Ice (frozen water); frozen gases
(ammonia, methane, and
carbon dioxide); other organic
compounds
(carbon-containing compounds)

Silicates (olivine and
pyroxene), iron, nickel

Orbit

Highly elliptical

More rounded

Orbital period (years)

75 to 100,000++

1-100

COMETS AND ASTEROIDS

• Comets and asteroids have irregular shapes

and varied sizes. They both reflect light from
the sun at varying amounts depending on the
size and composition.
• Silicates are minerals which contain the

minerals that contain the elements silicon,
oxygen, and at least one metal which is
responsible for comets and asteroids to be able
to reflect light.

COMETS AND ASTEROIDS

• Comet and asteroid both orbit the Sun
• Comets usually come from the Oort Cloud

which is beyond our Solar System, and a few
come from the Kuiper Belt which is just
beyond Neptune’s orbit.

• Long-period comets come from the Oort

cloud, while short-period comets come from
Kuiper Belt.

Meteoroid/Meteor/Meteorite

• A meteoroid usually all burns up when it

enters Earth’s atmosphere.

• A meteor is a light phenomenon or a

streak of light that occurs when a
meteoroid burns up as it enters the
Earth’s atmosphere.

• When a fragment from the meteoroid

survives and makes it to the ground, this
space rock fragment is now called a
meteorite.

Meteoroid/Meteor/Meteorite

• A meteor shower is a light

phenomenon caused by
fragments left by a comet
as they orbit the sun.
When the earth orbits the
sun and passes through
the comet fragments, a
streak of light is produced.

TYPES OF METEORITES:

⦿ Stony Meteorite

Stony meteorites, the

most common type of
meteorite, are generally
composed of approximately
75 – 90% silicon-based
minerals, 10 – 25% nickel-iron
alloy, and trace amounts of
iron sulfide.

TYPES OF METEORITES:

⦿ Stony-iron meteorite

Stony-iron meteorites contain

approximately even amounts of silicates
and nickel-iron alloy

TYPES OF METEORITES:

⦿ Iron meteorite

Most iron meteorites

likely originated in the cores of
large asteroids, and are
composed almost entirely of
nickel-iron alloy, which is also
a primary component of the
Earth's core.

Can you identify these celestial objects?

Match

Match the following

• Elliptical Orbit

• Orbits between Mars & Jupiter

• Entering Earth's Atmosphere

• Broken pieces of Asteroid or Comet

• On Earth's Surface

Comet

Asteroid

Meteor

Meteoroid

Meteorite

• Comet

• Asteroid

• Meteor

• Meteoroid

• Meteorite

Multiple Choice

^{Objects made of ice, gas and dust and orbit our sun are called:}

• Asteroids
• Comets
• Meteroids
• Meteors

Multiple Choice

Asteroids "hang out" in our solar system in a place called:

• The Kupier Belt
• The Oort Cloud
• The Planetary Rings
• The Asteroid Belt

Multiple Choice

Huge chunks of rock and metal (some measuring miles wide) and are believed to be left-over pieces of planets and moons are called:

• Comets
• Meteors
• Asteroids
• Meteroids

Multiple Choice

The shape of comet's paths are ________________.

• circular

• elliptical

• irregular

Multiple Choice

We often see these objects appear as "shooting stars" or streak of light in the sky. They are "smaller" pieces of rock that are burning in our atmosphere.

• Asteroids

• Meteors

• Meteroids

• Comets

Multiple Choice

Asteroids "hang out" in the Asteroid Belt between the planets of:

• Earth and Mars
• Mercury and Venus
• Saturn and Neptune
• Mars and Jupiter

Multiple Choice

Comets are believed to originate from deep within our solar system, beyond Neptune in a place called the:

• Asteroid Belt
• Meteor Shower
• Oort Cloud
• Comet Castle

Multiple Choice

These objects that orbit the sun are nicknamed, "dirty snowballs."

• Comets
• Asteroids
• Meteors
• Meteroids

Multiple Choice

When a meteoroid STRIKES the surface of the earth scientists refer to them as:

• Asteroids
• Comets
• Meteors
• Meteorites 

Multiple Choice

A small object that enters Earth's atmosphere from space and burns due to friction, emitting light.

• meteor
• comet
• asteroid
• star

Multiple Choice

A shooting star is actually a...

• Comet
• Meteoroid
• Meteorite
• Meteor

Multiple Choice

Millions of pieces of rocky material of various sizes orbit the Sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. These objects are known as -

• Asteroids
• Meteors
• Comets
• Planets

Multiple Choice

Broken pieces of asteroids and comets that range in size from small dust to 10 meters  are moving around in our solar system. These are called

• meteorites
• meteors
• meteoroids
• junk

Multiple Choice

Piece of rock that burns up as it passes through the earth's atmosphere.

• asteroid
• meteoroid
• comet
• meteor

Multiple Choice

Burns and vaporizes as it nears the sun.

• asteroid
• meteoroid
• comet
• meteorite

Multiple Choice

What's the difference between meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite?

• Meteoroids are broken pieces of a comet or asteroid, meteors are streaks of light in the sky, and a meteorite is a meteor that has landed on Earth's surface

• Meteoroids are huge, Meteors are the pieces that land, and Meteorites are shooting stars

• There are no differences

• Meteoroids are small, Meteors are another name for comets, and Meteorites are shooting stars