1. The Solar System

2. Our Galaxy
Is a spiral galaxy
Like this

3. We Are in the Orion Arm

4. The Solar System
This consists of the sun and everything that orbits it
Planets and their moons
Comets
Asteroids
Meteors
Meteoroids
meteorites

5. gravity
All of these things are locked in orbit due to the sun’s gravity
So…
The sun moves around the center of the galaxy
And all that other stuff moves around the sun

7. Calculating Gravity Gravitational force is an inverse proportion
This means that the magnitude of the force decreases as the distance between objects increases
Gravity depends on the masses of the two objects and the distance between them

9. The small stuff Meteoroids Meteors Meteorites
Small chunks of rock and metal that float in space
Meteors
Small chunks of rock and metal that get caught in Earth’s gravity and burn up in the atmosphere
Meteorites
Same as above BUT impact on the surface of the planet

10. sizes These guys range in size from 100μm to 50m across
One definition is anything “considerably smaller than an asteroid and considerably larger than an atom” kind of vague
But then again what is an asteroid?

12. Asteroids
Defined as something smaller than a planet but larger than a meteoroid
So I guess that means something bigger than 50 m across but smaller than a planet
There are some big boys out there

16. Comets Different than asteroids
Comets are made of dust, ice, frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice), ammonia, and some organic compounds (think like molasses or motor oil)
Comets can be quite huge
They also have a corona which is like a glow around them

17. The Corona
Since comets are partly dry ice, when they get close to the sun the dry ice starts to turn from solid to gas (sublimation) the gas is the corona
As it moves away from the sun the corona goes away
The comet’s tail is this gas. It will ALWAYS point away from the sun