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COMETS, ASTEROIDS, AND
METEORS
COMETS
A small clump of ice and dust with an
extremely elliptical (oval) orbit around
the Sun.
As it nears the sun on it’s orbit, the ice
sublimates (goes straight from a solid to a
gas) and forms the coma and tail.
The comet becomes visible because the
gas gets into an excited state and lights
up (kind of like neon lights)
COMET ANATOMY
3 parts:
Nucleus
Coma
Tail: always points away from sun
PARTS EXPLAINED
Nucleus – mass of ice and frozen gas
Coma – cloud of gas that surrounds
the nucleus
Tail – formed when the comet travels
near the sun; it’s the nucleus vaporizing
COMETS
HUBBLE DETAILS AN INCREDIBLE
COMET:
This is a picture of
comet 73P breaking up
as it is passing by the
Sun.
The comet was 1.17 AU
from the sun and .22
AU from Earth.
Photo credit: NSA, ESA,
STSci
WHERE COMETS COME FROM…
Short period comets reside in
the Kuiper Belt
Long period comets reside in
the Oort Cloud
In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
collided with Jupiter.
ASTEROIDS
A rocky object revolving around the sun
It is smaller than a planet (this is what
makes it different from terrestrial/rocky
planets).
They are found between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter in the Asteroid Belt!
ASTEROIDS
Description: Rocky remains from the
formation of the solar system
Composition: Rock and iron
Notable Asteroids:
Ceres – now a dwarf planet, only one in
the asteroid belt
Vesta – can be seen without a telescope
ASTEROIDS
Size: Varies from a few hundred feet to a
few hundred miles
Jupiter’s relationship with asteroids:
Scientists believe the asteroid belt is the
remains of a planet that never formed
because of Jupiter’s gravity
Evidence asteroids have hit planets:
Impact craters like the one thought to
have caused the dinosaur extinction
ASTEROIDS
METEORS
Description: Rocky or metal debris in
space; most no bigger than a pebble
Meteoroid: a small chunk of rock or dust in
space
Meteor: a streak of light in the sky
produced by the burning of a meteoroid
in Earth’s atmosphere
Meteorite: a meteoroid that has hit Earth’s
surface
THE LIFE OF A METEOR…
Please draw
something similar to
the image on the right
in your notes sheet.
At each stage, write a
short description of
what is happening
that is making it
“change” and label
each stage
Atmosphere
Earth’s Surface
METEOROIDS
Meteoroids are small chunks of rock and
dust left over from asteroids and comets
that pass by the Earth.
Composition: rocky, iron, or mixed
Location/orbit: Found within the path of
the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
METEORS
3 types:
Meteor: a streak of light in the sky produced by
the burning of a meteoroid in Earth’s atmosphere
Meteoroid: a chunk of rock or dust in space
Meteorite: a meteoroid that has hit Earth’s
surface
Meteor Impact Crater in
Arizona.
COMETS VS. METEORS (WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?)
If both look like bright streaks of light in the sky,
how can you tell the difference?
Comets seemingly hang motionless in the sky
whereas meteors quickly streak across the sky
(shooting star) and are only seen for a fraction
of a second
Comets are millions of miles away, meteors
are in our atmosphere.
Comets are orbiting the sun, Meteors are
headed towards the Earth’s surface.