1. Comets, Asteroids, and Meteors- Oh My!

2. Comets
Description: Cold clumps of gases and dusty ice from the outer parts of the solar system
Comet means long haired star
Called “Dirty Snowballs”

3. Comet
3 parts:
Nucleus
Coma
Tail: always points away from sun

4. Comet

5. Parts Explained Nucleus – mass of ice and frozen gas
Coma – cloud of gas that surrounds the nucleus
Tail – formed when the comet travels near the sun; it’s the nucleus vaporizing

6. Comet Orbits Comets have long, narrow elliptical orbits
Short period comets are found in the Kuiper Belt
Long period comets are found in the Oort Cloud
Sometimes, comets get too close to the sun, and then…

7. NASA

8. Famous Comets
Hale- Bopp
1997

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Comet Hyakutake
1996

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13. In 1994, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter.

14. Asteroids
Description: Rocky remains from the formation of the solar system
Notable Asteroids:
Ceres – now a dwarf planet, only one in the asteroid belt
Vesta – can be seen without a telescope

15. Asteroids Composition: Location/Orbit: Rocky, iron, or rocky-iron
Asteroid Belt – between Mars and Jupiter
Trojans – orbit with a planet
Near Earth Asteroids – cross the Earth’s orbit

16. Asteroid Belt
The region between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found.

17. Asteroids Size: Varies from a few hundred feet to a few hundred miles
Jupiter’s relationship with asteroids:
Scientists believe the asteroid belt is the remains of a planet that never formed because of Jupiter’s gravity
Evidence asteroids have hit planets:
Impact craters like the one thought to have caused the dinosaur extinction

18. Asteroids…

19. Asteroids Summary
Not all asteroids are located in the asteroids belt and can pass near Earth
Jupiter’s gravity kept the asteroids from forming a planet
Some asteroids orbit just before and after Jupiter
Largest asteroid, Ceres, is 580 mi across but most are less than a few miles across

20. Asteroid Impacts Summary
Scientists think an asteroid impact near Mexico caused the dinosaur extinction.
Chicxulub Crater in Mexico

21. Asteroid Impact crater in Canada

22. Meteors
Description: Rocky or metal debris in space; most no bigger than a pebble
Meteoroid: a small chunk of rock or dust in space
Meteor: a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth’s atmosphere
Meteorite: a meteoroid that has hit Earth’s surface

23. Meteoroids
Meteoroids are small chunks of rock and dust left over from asteroids and comets that pass by the Earth.
Composition: rocky, iron, or mixed
Location/orbit: Found within the path of the Earth’s orbit around the sun.

24. Meteoroids
Types:
Stony
Iron
Stony-Iron
Meteor Shower: yearly predictable meteors when Earth passes through comet or asteroid debris

25. Meteors
Meteor Impact Crater in Arizona.
3 types:
Meteor: a streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth’s atmosphere
Meteoroid: a chunk of rock or dust in space
Meteorite: a meteoroid that has hit Earth’s surface

26. Meteors…

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