Asteroid/Comet
An object in space that is made of rock and metal, but too small to be a planet
Asteroid
What astronomer correctly calculated the return of a comet seen in 1682?
Edmond Halley
What is the central portion of a comet called?
nucleus
What is a trail of space debris left by a comet?
meteoroid stream
Frozen chunk of ice and dust that orbit the sun are called
Comet
With which planet do the Trojan asteroids share an orbit?
Jupiter
What components of a comet tail separate because they react differently with the solar wind?
Dust and Gas
What is a chunk of space debris that has reached Earth's surface?
meteorite
What is the cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the center of a comet?
coma
What is a large ring of asteroids located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter ?
Asteroid Belt
Why does a comet's tail grow smaller as the comet travels away from the sun?
Weaker solar wind
What is a small chunk of rock or metal that is traveling through Earth's atmosphere and glowing due to adiabatic heating?
Meteor
What was the first object to be classified as an asteroid?
ceres
The two groups of asteroids that travel in Jupiter's orbit are called?
Trojan asteroids
Which comet has the shortest period?
Encke's comet
What phenomenon might be seen when the earth passes through a comet's trail of small space rocks?
Meteor shower
What is an extremely bright meteor that explodes in midair called?
bolide
What is the ring containing objects that resemble comet nuclei and orbit farther from the sun than Neptune does?
Kuiper's belt
What type of comet has a period shorter than 200 years ?
short-period comet
What are small chunks of rock or metal in space ?
Meteoroid