Comets, Asteroids and Meteors

Comets, Asteroids and MeteorsPages 104-105What is a comet?Where are most comets found?Draw a picture of a comet and identify the different parts.

Describe their MOTION and how they change as they approach the sun?

Comet (dirty snowball): collection of ice, dust and small rocks; long, narrow ellipses

* Head:Nucleus-solid inner coreComa-fuzzy (clouds of gases/dust)

outer layer* Tail:

Dust and GasesUp to 100, 000, 000 km longGrows as it approaches the sun in

its orbit*Most comets are found:Kuiper belt: area beyond our planets

(contains “icy” objects)Oort cloud: area beyond the Kuiper

belt

Comets, Asteroids and MeteorsPage 106What is an asteroid?What are they made of?

How did they form?Where are most of them located?

Asteroid: rocky objects that are too small (and too numerous) to call planets that

orbit the sun

Asteroid Belt: revolving asteroids locatedbetween Mars and Jupiter(separate theInner and Outer Planets)

Ceres (dwarf planet along with Pluto)

Comets, Asteroids and MeteorsPage 107What is the difference between a meteoroid, meteor and a meteorite?

What are they made of?Where do they come from?

•Meteoroid: chunk of rock or dust (from an asteroid or comet)

Meteor: a meteoroid burning due to Earth’s atmosphere

Meteorite: a meteoroid that survives Earth’s atmosphere and collides with Earth (resulting in a crater)