Asteroids
What are asteroids composed of?
rock & metal
What is a meteoroid made of?
rock & metal, but smaller than an asteroid
What does Earth have to pass through to create a meteor shower?
dust & debris
What are comets made of?
large chunks of ice/rock/dust
where do short period comets come from?
beyond Neptune
Large asteroids are ____ , while most asteroids are ________ ______.
1) round
2) irregularly shaped
most are the size of ____ _________, some are the size of _________ /____
1) dust particles
2) cars
3) buildings
Where does the dust and debris come from?
a comet's tail
how big can comets be?
range from less than 100m to more than 40km
where do long period comets come from?
beyond Pluto
Do asteroids orbit the sun?
Yes
What does a meteoroid get pulled down by, and where does it get pulled to?
Earth's gravity, and Earth's atmosphere.
What is a meteorite?
large meteor that doesn't fully burn up and the debris falls to Earth.
2 tails:
1) gaseous tail
2) dust tail
short period comets can travel around the sun in:
less than 200 years.
example: Halley's Comet: takes 76-77 years to orbit the sun once
Asteroid example:
Ceres
What is another term for Meteor?
"shooting star"
What killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago?
a 10km wide meteorite
What direction does each tail point?
gaseous tail: directly away from the sun as a result of solar wind and radiation.
dust tail: point in the direction of where the comet originated.
long period comets can travel around the sun in:
more than 200 years
example: Hale Bopp takes 2388 years to orbit the sun once.
Where is the asteroid belt located?
in between Mars & Jupiter
What kind of orbit do comets have?
INCLINED
2 examples of meteor showers
1) Northern Taurus
2) Leonids
2 types of comets
1) short period comets
2) long period comets
Where do planets orbit?
on a line called the ecliptic in between the sun & Earth.