Small Bodies in Our Solar System

Between Mars and Jupiter is a region of the solar system called the __________.

• asteroid belt
• Milky Way
• Kuiper belt
• Oort Cloud

Most comets originate in the ________.

• asteroid belt
• Milky Way
• Kuiper belt or Oort Cloud

• outer space

All the known dwarf planets EXCEPT Ceres orbit in the _________ beyond Neptune.

• asteroid belt
• Milky Way
• Kuiper belt
• Oort Cloud

Most asteroids orbit the sun in the _________.

• asteroid belt
• Milky Way
• Kuiper belt
• Oort Cloud

When a meteoroid enters Earth's atmosphere, friction causes it to burn up and produce a streak of light called a ____________.

• meteor

• meteorite

• comet

• asteroid

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

• meteor
• meteorite
• comet
• asteroid

If a meteoroid hits Earth's surface, it is called a ________.

• meteor
• meteorite
• comet
• asteroid

A streak of light made by a chunk of rock or dust entering Earth's atmosphere is called a(n)

• meteor
• meteorite
• comet
• asteroid

A chunk of rock or dust in space that usually comes from a comet or an asteroid is called a __________.

• meteoroid

• meteorite

• comet

• asteroid

Clouds of gas and dust on a comet form a fuzzy outer layer around the nucleus called a ________.

• meteor
• asteroid
• coma
• tail