Transcript Comets, Asteroids and Meteors

Comets, Asteroids and
Meteors
Asteroids
• Large Rocks in space (smaller than Planets) that
orbit the Sun
• Most are located between Mars and Jupiter
“Asteroid Belt”
Probably a Planet that never formed
Because of Jupiter’s gravity
Ceres
• The largest Asteroid
• In the Asteroid
Belt
Meteoroids
Smaller “Rocky” objects in Space
Come from Asteroids
Meteors
Small rocks or particles that burn in the earth’s
atmosphere. “shooting star” “falling star”
Meteor Shower
• Large number of meteors
(usually when passing through the tail, or
trail of a comet)
Meteorites
• The rocks that hit the Earth
Types: Stony, iron, Stony Iron
Comets
• The “Dirty Snowballs” of the Solar System
• About the size of a Mountain
• Made of Ice, rock and dust (Has nucleus, coma, tail)
• Some orbit past Pluto
• Birth Place: past Pluto – “Oort Cloud”
• Grows a tail when it is near the Sun
Tail always points away from the Sun.
Most Famous Comet
• Halley – Orbits the Sun once every 76
years. Will return in 2061