Comets and Their Origins

Dirty snowballs

Sun

False (B)

<p>Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Frozen gases and water ice (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The time it takes to orbit the Sun</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Coma (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>False (B)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Ceres</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>True (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>A small, rocky or metallic object that revolves around the Sun</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Meteor = A small, solid particle that burns up in Earth's atmosphere Meteoroid = A small, solid particle that travels through space Meteorite = A small, solid particle that reaches Earth's surface</p> Signup and view all the answers

Small, icy bodies that orbit the Sun, primarily composed of frozen gases, dust, and rocky material.

The region of the Solar System beyond Neptune, containing icy bodies and debris left from the formation of the planets.

A vast shell surrounding the Solar System, composed of trillions of icy bodies, believed to be the source of many long-period comets.

A comet's solid, icy center, containing frozen gases, dust, and rocky material.

A glowing cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the nucleus of a comet as it approaches the Sun.

A long, flowing tail of dust particles that streams behind a comet as it orbits the Sun.

A long, straight tail of ionized gas that streams behind a comet, influenced by the solar wind.

Rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun, too small to be considered planets.

Small pieces of rock and metal that orbit the Sun, smaller than asteroids.

A meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up, creating a streak of light.

A meteoroid that survives its journey through the atmosphere and falls to the Earth's surface.

The path of a comet or asteroid around the Sun, which can be highly elongated and elliptical.

A stream of meteoroids that creates many meteors when the Earth passes through the stream.

Remnants from the early Solar System, such as comets, asteroids, and meteoroids, which provide clues about the formation of the planets.

The outermost region of the Solar System, where comets originate, characterized by a vast spherical cloud.

A region beyond Neptune, containing icy bodies and a disk-like structure.

The solid, central part of a comet, composed of ice, dust, and rocky material.

A cloud of gas and dust that surrounds a comet as it approaches the Sun, formed by vaporized ice.

A tail of dust particles that trails behind a comet as it orbits the Sun, pushed away by solar radiation pressure.

A tail of ionized gas that trails behind a comet, pushed away by the solar wind.

The process by which the frozen gases in a comet's nucleus turn into gas as it approaches the Sun.

The force exerted by light particles that pushes away dust particles in a comet's tail.

The stream of charged particles from the Sun that interacts with a comet's ion tail.

The time it takes for a comet to complete one orbit around the Sun.

A comet that has a short orbital period, typically less than 200 years.

A comet that has a long orbital period, typically hundreds or thousands of years.

Rocky and metallic objects that orbit the Sun, too small to be considered planets.

Small pieces of rock and metal that orbit the Sun, smaller than asteroids.

A meteoroid that enters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up, creating a streak of light.

A meteoroid that survives its journey through the atmosphere and falls to the Earth's surface.