Visitors from Space

Vocabulary

100

tiny pieces

particles

200

Cloud around the comet's nucleus

coma

300

Bits of dust and rock that are blown away from the comet

meteoroids

400

Meteoroids get hotter and hotter until they start to burn; then they are called ---

meteors

500

the force or continuous flow of gases from the Sun

solar wind

Story 1

100

What does a comet look like in the sky?

a flaming ball

200

A comet starts out as ______. (a) chunks of ice (b) a star (c) a ball of frozen gases (d) a large rock

(c) a ball of frozen gases

300

The gas in the comet's coma can be compared to the gas in a _______. (a) fluorescent light bulb (b) solar wind (c) shooting star (d) dirty snowball

(a) fluorescent light bulb

400

The tails of comets are made of _______. (a) ice (b) gas and dust (c) dust (d) rocks

(b) gas and dust

500

The main purpose of this story is to tell about _________. (a) how to become an astronomer and learn to write books (b) traveling comets that can change our lives (c) when the next solar system will appear in the universe (d) what comets are made of and how they move and change

(d) what comets are made of and how they move and change

Story 2

100

Scientists who study the planets and stars are called _______.

astronomers

200

What is the name for the orbits that comets take around the sun? (a) years (b) ellipses (c) periods (d) loops

(b) ellipses

300

The force that connects the solar system to the sun is called _______. (a) a coma (b) a planet (c) gravity (d) an asteroid

(c) gravity

400

What is the time it takes a comet to complete its orbit called? (a) loops (b) orbit (c) ellipse (d) period

(d) period

500

Who is the author of "Visitors From Space"?

Jeanne Bendick

Spelling

100

to move around in circles

loops

200

the middle part

nucleus

300

eydosivcr -to find something for the first time

discovery

400

oval shape

ellipse

500

bright and glowing

fluorescent

Surprise

100

What is Halley's Comet's period?

76 years

200

What is the name for the "flying rocks" in our solar system? (a) asteroids (b) boulders (c) comets (d) meteors

(a) asteroids

300

Long ago, why did people think a comet was a warning of something bad? (a) bad things always happened after a comet appeared (b) people did not understand comets (c) comets appeared in the sky suddenly (d) earthquakes and floods occurred after a comet appeared.

(b) people did not understand comets

400

What is one thing that makes a comet glow?

Icy particles reflect the sun's light; the gas in the comet soaks up some of the sun's light.

500

What is a comet tail?

The misty clouds of frozen gases around a comet that the solar wind blows out behind the comet.