Our Distant Neighbors: Other Objects in the Solar System

The video explains the phenomena of shooting stars, which are actually meteors formed when meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere and burn due to friction. Some meteoroids that don't burn completely become meteorites upon hitting Earth's surface, sometimes creating craters. The video also covers comets, which are icy bodies traveling in elliptical orbits around the sun. As they near the sun, they develop long tails and can be visible from Earth for extended periods, as seen with Hale-Bopp and Haley's Comet.

What causes the streak of light known as a meteor?

• Reflection of sunlight on dust particles

• Friction of meteoroids entering Earth's atmosphere

• Stars moving rapidly across the sky

• Lightning in the upper atmosphere

What are meteorites?

• Comets that disintegrate near the sun

• Meteoroids that reach Earth's surface

• Meteoroids that burn up completely in the atmosphere

• Stars that fall to Earth

What is a comet primarily composed of?

• Solid iron core

• Molten rock and metal

• Gaseous clouds

• Ice and dust

What happens to a comet as it approaches the sun?

• It forms a tail due to vaporization

• It disintegrates completely

• It changes its orbit to a circular path

• It becomes a meteorite

How often is Halley's Comet visible from Earth?

• Every 150 years

• Every 100 years

• Every 76 years

• Every 50 years