ASTEROID, COMETS, METEORS

• What are comets made of?

  Ice, dust, and rocks
• What happens when comets go near the sun?

  They heat up and spew gases.
• What is a piece of comet or asteroid that has landed on Earth called?

  Meteorite
• What are comets?

  Frozen left over from formation of our solar system.
• Where did the term comet originate?

  From the Latin words "stella cometa" which means hairy star.
• What are the orbits of comets?

  they are big and highly elliptical, extending far beyond the orbit of Pluto.
• Where do comets originate?

  At the Kuiper Belt and Oort Belt
• What do you call comets that originate at the Kuiper Belt?

  Short period comets
• What are short period comets?

  Comets with orbits less than 200 years.
• What do you call comets that originate at the Oort Belt?

  Long period comets
• What re long period comets?

  Comets with orbital periods more than 200 years.
• When can comets only be seen?

  When they pass the sun
• Give an example of a short period comet.

  Halley's comet, it is visible to Earth every 75-76 years and was named after Edmond Halley.
• Give an example of a long period comet.

  Neowise, this comet will not return for another 6800 years. It is known as the brightest comet in the northern hemisphere.
• Whhat is comet Hale-Bopp?

  It is a comet that orbits 2533 years and it was named after Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.
• What are the parts of a comet?

  Nucleus, coma, and tail
• What is the nucleus of a comet?


  A solid body that contains a mixture of dust, ice or frozen gases, water vapor, and other materials.
• What is a coma?

  A cloud-like that surrounds the nucleus; it is the freely escaping atmosphere around the nucleus that forms when the comet comes close to the sun.
• What is a tail?


  Made up of gas or dust particles. Comets can have up to at least 2 tails.
• What are meteoroids?


  Lumps of rock or iron that orbit the sun. They can also be seen in regions like the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud.
• What are the three sources of meteoroids?


  1. Left over from the dust that created the solar system.
  2. Others are fragment of asteroids
  3. Many meteoroids entering the Earth's atmosphere in one go, are caused by comets that result to huge meteor showers
• What are meteors?


  Meteoroids that enter the Earth's atmosphere. It is knowns as the falling or shooting star because it burns which creates a flash of light.
• What are meteorites?


  Meteors that survive on the Earth's atmosphere and land on Earth.
• What are asteroids?

  Small rock fragments that orbit around the sun with varied/irregular shape. They are sometimes called minor planets or planetoids. Most of them are in the region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter called the Asteroid Belt.
• What is an asteroid made of?


  Carbon, nickel, iron, and silicate
• What is the orbital period of asteroids?


  1-100 years
• What are considered Near-Earth Objects (NEO)?


  Asteroids, comets, and meteoroids
• What will be the effect on the size of the crater when a large piece of asteroid or comet hits the Earth?


  The larger the asteroid/comet, the bigger the craters that will be formed.
• What are the two tails of a comet called?


  The dust and plasma / ion tail