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Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Comets

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Presentation on theme: "Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Comets"— Presentation transcript:

1 Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Comets

2 Asteroids An asteroid is a large chunk of rock or metal that orbits the Sun. The largest asteroid is Ceres with a diameter of 940 km. (Mercury has a diameter of ~4,880 km.)

3 Asteroids These asteroids are leftover debris from the formation of the solar system. Most orbit the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

4 Meteoroids Asteroids can collide and break off smaller pieces. These pieces are called meteoroids and can be smaller than a piece of sand. Meteoroids are scattered throughout the solar system.

5 Meteors Meteoroids that enter a planet’s atmosphere will become meteors as they streak through the sky. The friction caused by the atmosphere will cause some of the meteoroid to burn which produces the streak.

6 Meteorite Large pieces of meteors that reach a planet’s surface are known as meteorites. Craters may result from impact if the meteorite is large enough.

7 Comets A lump of ice, frozen gas, and dust that orbits the Sun is a comet. Comets orbit the Sun in very long ellipses that may take it beyond the orbit of Pluto.

8 Comets Comets have three parts: The nucleus (core) that is a dirty ice ball. The coma is the cloud of gas that surrounds the nucleus. The tail is the long, ribbonlike trail of comet dust and gas.

9 Comets C) Continued….The tail always point away from the Sun. Comets come from the Oort Cloud that is beyond Pluto’s orbit.


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