2. A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of rock or debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere.

3. A meteorite is when a meteoroid hits the surface of a planet and is no longer moving.

4. A meteoroid is a random floating solid object in space that has not yet hit a planet.
They are smaller than asteroids.

5. Small objects that ORBIT the SUN
Too small to be called planets
Most are found in the “Asteroid Belt” between Mars and Jupiter

6. Solid pieces of rock and debris that enter a planet’s atmosphere.
Most are the size of a pea or smaller and completely burn up before reaching the planet’s surface.
Also known as “shooting stars”

7. ORBITS the SUN, highly elliptical orbit
Have a nucleus, coma, and a tail (dust & gas)
Sometimes called a “dirty snowball” because it is made up of rock and ice.
The tail points AWAY from the Sun

9. Shaped like flattened disks with one or more spiral arms.
Our galaxy, Milky Way, is a spiral galaxy.
Our solar system is located in one of the spiral arms.

10. Most abundant type of galaxy in the universe.
Round or elliptical in shape
Contain very little gas or dust
Because of little gas, no new stars are forming
The largest and smallest galaxies are elliptical galaxies.

11. Do not fit into any other category
Chaotic mix of stars, gas, and dust
Usually found near large spiral galaxies who may be distorting (changing) their shape.

12. Stars are objects that heat and light the planets in a system.
They are balls of plasma held together by gravity.
Nuclear FUSION occurs in stars, fusing lighter elements (Hydrogen) into heavier elements (Helium).

13. A constellation is a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure.

14. Nebulae are giant clouds of gas and dust where stars can form (are born).
Nebulae are found in spiral galaxies but not in elliptical galaxies.

15. Galaxies are a large grouping of stars, gas, and dust in space that are held together by gravity.
The number of stars ranges from a few million to trillions.