Meteors, Meteoriods, Comets, Asteriods

A chunk of rock that is not burned up by the atmosphere and hits Earth's surface.

• Meteoroid

• Meteor

• Meteorite

• Comet

Which among the choices is one similarity between asteroids, comets, and meteors?

• come from the Asteroid belt

• come from the Oort cloud

• made of rock

• orbit the Sun

Which space object is larger?

• asteroid

• meteor

• meteorite

• meteoroid

What is the main difference between asteroids and meteoroids?

• Asteroids are pieces of comets, whereas meteoroids are pieces of space debris

• Asteroids are only found in the “belt” between Mars and Jupiter

• Meteoroids are generally bigger than asteroids

• Asteroids are generally bigger than meteoroids

What part of the comet forms around a comet's nucleus? This cloud is made by solar wind striking the surface of the nucleus, causing a mixture of gas and dust to form around it.

• Coma

• Fire

• Light

• Ring

The nucleus, coma, and tail are the three parts of a(n) __________________________.

• Comet

• Asteroid

• Meteor

As a comet approaches the sun, the gas and dust heat up and ____________________________.

• form a fuzzy coma.

• stream outward forming tails.

• disappear.

• shrink.

A chunk of ice and dust whose orbit is usually a long, narrow ellipse

• Meteoroid

• Comet

• Asteroid

• Meteor

The asteroid belt passes between the orbits of which two planets?

• Earth and Mars

• Mars and Jupiter

• Jupiter and Saturn

• Saturn and Uranus

A chunk of rock that enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light in the sky.

• Meteoroid

• Meteor

• Meteorite

• Comet