Other than the sun,
planets, and moon, what
other objects are found in
the Solar System?
Other than the sun,
planets, and moon, what
other objects are found in
the Solar System?
Comets
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Comets
• Comets are composed
of dust and rock mixed
with frozen water,
methane, and ammonia
• Comets are considered
to be like a large, dirty
snowball
Comets
Comets travel around the
sun in elliptical orbits
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alizations/es2706/es2706page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization
Comets
• When a comet nears the sun, some of it
melts and forms a long tail (gases in the
comet are vaporized by the sun)
• When a comet moves farther away from
the sun, the tail disappears
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After a comet has passed close to
the Sun many times, it breaks
apart. The small pieces from the
comet spread out.
These pieces of dust and rock,
along with those coming from other
sources, are called Meteoroids.
Asteroids
Asteroid
• A piece of rock similar to the
material formed into planets.
• An Asteroid is smaller than a
planet but larger than a
meteoroid
Asteroid
• Most asteroids are located in an
area between the orbits of Mars and
Jupiter called the Asteroid Belt.
• Why are they located there?
• The gravity of Jupiter might have
kept a planet from forming in the
area
COMETS ASTEROIDS
Icy bodies COMETS & Rocky fragments
come from
COMETS
and ASTEROIDS
KuiperHI
Belt Oort Near-Earth Main Asteroid Belt
Cloud Objects (NEO)
Both reflect light Composed of rocks
Contain elements like
from the sun and metals like iron
sodium and argon
and nickel
Both orbit the sun
Highly elliptical Irregular shapes More rounded or less
and varied sizes elliptical
With orbital period of
With orbital period of
75-100,000 +++
Remnants from 1-100 years
years
the solar Provide clues for
Helps understand system scientists to discover
how Earth has liquid more about the
water chemical composition
of Earth
Characterictics of Comets and Asteroids
SIMILARITIES
Varied/irregular shapes
Both orbit the sun
Remnants of solar system
Characteristics of Comets and Asteroids
COMETS ASTEROIDS
ORIGIN Kuiper Belt and Main Asteroid Belt
Oort Cloud
SIZE
RANGE OF 1-10 km 1-100++ km
DIAMETER
ORBITAL 1-100
PERIOD 75 to 100,000 ++
Characteristics of Comets and Asteroids
COMETS ASTEROIDS
CHEMICAL Ice (frozen water); Silicates
COMPOSI frozen gases
TION (ammonia, methane (olivine and
and carbon dioxide); pyroxene), iron,
other organic nickel
compounds (carbon
containing
compounds
ORBIT Highly elliptical More rounded
Summarizing Strategy
Complete the “After the Lesson” section of the
Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids Anticipation
Guide by selecting which object each
statement describes.
teacher check
Objects in Space
Comet Asteroid
-Cometsare composed of dust and rock mixed with frozen water, A piece of rock similar to the
methane, and ammonia material formed into planets.
-Comets are considered to be like a large, dirty snowball An Asteroid is smaller than a
planet but larger than a
-When a comet nears the sun, some of it melts and forms a long
tail (gases in the comet are vaporized by the sun) meteoroid
-When a comet moves farther away from the sun, the tail Most asteroids are located in an
disappears area between the orbits of Mars
and Jupiter called the Asteroid
Belt.
They are there because the
gravity of Jupiter might have
kept a planet from forming in
the area
Meteoroid Meteor Meteorite
Meteoroid is a Meteor is a Meteorite is a
“space rock” that meteoroid that meteoroid that hits
is still in space burns up in the the earth’s surface
earth’s atmosphere
-These pieces of
(Shooting Star)
dust and rock
from a comet, A Meteor is
along with those considered harmless
coming from other even though it can
sources, are called be viewed from
Meteoroids. earth at times.
