Chapter 12 Other Objects in the Solar System Pgs. 356 - 359
Comets Made of dust and rock particles, mixed with frozen water, methane, ammonia Oort cloud – billions of comets that surround the solar system Hale-Bopp – seen from earth, larger than most that came close to the sun Structure – when close to the sun vaporizes and releases dust and jets of gas
Meteoroids Pieces of a comet’s nucleus, dust and rock
Meteor A meteoroid that burns up in Earth’s atmosphere
Meteorite When a meteoroid does not burn up completely in the atmosphere and strikes Earth
Asteroid Piece of rock similar to the materials planets were formed from Asteroid Belt – between Mars and Jupiter, due to Jupiter’s gravity Size – range from tiny to 940 km Formed early in the history of the solar system
Questions What is a comet? Draw the structure of a comet. What is a meteorite? What is a meteor? Where can asteroids be found? What is an Oort Cloud?