Space Rocks
a large, bowl-shaped cavity in the ground or on the surface of a planet or the moon
crater
What are comets mostly made of?
ice, dust, frozen gases, rock
What do we call the large strip of asteroids found among the planets?
the asteroid belt
Another name often referred to for a meteor.
shooting star
What is at the center of the solar system?
the sun
Which space rocks don't orbit the sun directly?
meteors and meteorites
Name one part of a comet
nucleus, coma, tail
Name the two planets the asteroid belt lays between.
Jupiter and Mars
When a space rock makes contact with the surface of Earth it's called a ___________________.
meteorite
This planet has the largest change in temperature
What is the difference between a meteoroid and an asteroid?
the size; location in space
What are comets also known as?
dirty snowballs
What is the largest Asteroid in the Asteroid Belt?
Ceres
A piece of stone or metal that travels through space
meteoroid
What planets are small with a shorter orbit? Also known as terrestrial planets
inner planets
a distant spherical region of icy objects far beyond the Kuiper belt.
Oort Cloud
What are the two types of comets?
long and short term comets
What is the composition of an asteroid?
Rock and metal
A meteoroid that falls toward Earth
meteor
Where in our solar system are most dwarf planets found?
kuiper belt
What protects Earth from metoers and asteroids?
atmosphere
Jupiter
ellipse
What pushes the comet tail away from nucleus or sun?
solar wind
What causes a meteor shower?
Earth passing through a stream of debris, typically left behind by a comet, though some are from asteroids
Name three ways a space rock can be classified as a planet.
1) mostly round
2) large enough to force other objects out of its orbit
3) orbits a host star