Any two: Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, Eris, 2007 OR10
200
What is unusual about the orbit of a comet
Its a long ellipse.
200
What's the difference in an asteroid and a meteoroid?
Meteoroids are smaller.
200
Where is the asteroid belt located?
a wide area around Mars and Jupiter
200
If you had seen the sky Jan 6th, you would have seen these streaks of light throughout the night.
meteors
200
How many moons does Pluto have?
Three have been discovered: Charon, Hydra and Nix
300
When does a comet have a tail?
when it nears a star, such as the Sun
300
What is a meteor shower?
When large numbers of meteors are seen. These are usually caused when Earth goes through the tail of a comet (the parent comet).
!!!DAILY DOUBLE!!!
Analyze the meteor chart to find: when will the next meteor shower occur? AND What comet caused it?
300
What is the range of size for asteroids?
from a few meters to 900 km
300
A large meteor hits Jupiter. Fragments break off and sail off into orbit in the area between Jupiter and Mars.
asteroid
300
What is unusual about Pluto's rotation?
It is retrograde (rotates clockwise).
400
What is one of the two places comets are thought to come from?
the Kuiper belt OR the Oort cloud
400
Which of the 3 revolves around the Sun?
most Meteoroids revolve around the Sun
400
What color are outer asteroids (those near Jupiter)?
reddish brown to black
400
A larger meteor hit Mars (for real). Fragments flew off Mars and eventually hit in Antarctica.
meteorite
400
Why did the discovery of Eris add to the strength of the argument that Pluto not be regarded as a planet?
Eris is larger than Pluto.
500
What are the 4 parts of a comet.
nucleus, coma, dust tail, ion tail
500
In what part of Earth's atmosphere do meteors burn up?
the mesosphere
500
What is hypothesized about the reason for the color of outer asteroids?
They may be made of organic materials.
500
The ones in the middle are usually light gray, denoting metal or stone.
asteroids
500
What are two criteria for being a planet?
* orbits the Sun
* has sufficient mass to round or nearly round
* is not a satellite (moon) of another object
* has removed debris and small objects from the area around its orbit