Occurs when the rate of observable meteors is much higher. Many meteors seem to be moving across the sky.
200
What are the two different types of comets?
Long-period and short-period comets.
200
Asteroids can have their own _______.
moons
200
Approximately how many asteroids are located in the Asteroid Belt?
billions and possibly trillions
200
What is a meteor?
The light made by a meteoroid as it passes through Earth's atmosphere
200
What other planet is also known to have meteor showers?
Mars
300
What is the easiest part of the comet to see with the naked eye?
the tail
300
Why does the brightness of asteroids change as they rotate?
Most asteroids have an irregular shape
300
How much farther away from the Sun is the Asteroid Belt than Earth?
about 2 and 1/2 times farther
300
What is a very bright meteor that may explode and can sometimes be heard on the ground?
a fireball-- it is very rare.
300
Where do the majority of meteors come from during a meteor shower? (a particular point in the sky)
the radiant of the shower
400
Where are comets located (for the most part in these 2 places)?
The Oort Cloud or Kuiper Belt
400
Asteroids could possibly be extinct or inactive _____.
comets
400
Why can't the material in the Asteroid Belt clump together to form a large mass greater than 4x the size of Earth?
Because of Jupiter's gravitational pull.
400
What is the difference in location between a meteor, meteoroid, and meteorite?
Meteor -> enters Earth's atmoshpere
Meteorite -> actually reaches Earth's surface
Meteoroid -> in outer space
500
Why (in the past) have collisions of comets to our planet been so important?
They have stimulated life by providing an atmosphere to our planet, water to our world, and possibly the first carbon-based molecules, enabling life to begin.
500
What is the largest asteroid ever discovered?
Ceres
500
Who discovered the Asteroid Belt?
Johann Titius
500
What causes a meteor, or the light from a meteoroid?
the light is caused by friction between the rapidly moving meteoroid and the atmosphere
500
The annual nature of meteor showers suggests that they are associated with ______ encountering an unusually large number of meteoroids on particular parts of its orbit