23.4 Formative

Small rocky bodies (not planets) that orbit the sun and are larger than 10m in diameter. Most lie in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

• asteroids

• comets

• moons

• meteoroids

Pieces of rocky and metallic materials held together by frozen water and other frozen compounds. They take hundreds or even thousands of years to orbit the sun.

• comets

• dwarf planets

• asteroids

• meteoroids

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

Consists of a glowing head called a coma and a tail.

• comets

• dwarf planets

• asteroids

• meteoroids

The most famous short-period comet, which orbits the sun ever 76 years.

• Halley' s comet

• Galileo's comet

• Newton's comet

• Kuiper's comet

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-2

Sometimes called a "shooting star", these are small solid particles that emit a streak of light when they enter Earth's atmosphere.

• meteoroids

• comets

• asteroids

• meteorites

A meteoroid that reaches Earth's surface, sometimes causing impact craters.

• meteorite

• asteroid

• comatoid

• satellite

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-2

Most asteroids lie in the asteroid belt between what two planets?

• Mars and Jupiter

• Jupiter and Saturn

• Saturn and Uranus

• Uranus and Neptune

The glowing head of a comet is called a

• coma

• tail

• meteorite

• asteroid

In which direction does the tail of a comet point?

• away from the sun

• towards the sun

• in the opposite direction it is moving

• in the same direction it is moving

Occasionally, meteor sightings can reach 60 or more per hour. These displays are called

• meteor showers

• asteroid belts

• meteorites

• comets