Comets, Asteroids & Meteors PDF

MODULE 6 COMETS, ASTERIODS AND METEORS Can you identify these celestial objects? COMETS AND ASTEROIDS Comets and asteroids are referred to by astronomers as Near-Earth Objects (NEO). Comets are icy bodies or objects while asteroids are rocky fragments. Comets and asteroids are rem...

MODULE 6 COMETS, ASTERIODS AND METEORS Can you identify these celestial objects? COMETS AND ASTEROIDS Comets and asteroids are referred to by astronomers as Near-Earth Objects (NEO). Comets are icy bodies or objects while asteroids are rocky fragments. Comets and asteroids are remnants from the formation of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Comparison of some characteristics of Characteristics comets Comet and asteroids Asteroid Origin Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Main Asteroid Belt Shape Varied/Irregular Varied/Irregular Size range of 1-10 (nucleus only) 1-100 ++ diameter (kilometer) Chemical Ice (frozen water); frozen Silicates (olivine composition gases (ammonia, methane, and pyroxene), and carbon dioxide); other iron, nickel organic compounds (carbon-containing compounds) Orbit Highly elliptical More rounded Orbital period 75 to 100,000++ 1-100 (years) COMETS AND ASTEROIDS Comets and asteroids have irregular shapes and varied sizes. They both reflect light from the sun at varying amounts depending on the size and composition. Silicates are minerals which contain the minerals that contain the elements silicon, oxygen, and at least one metal which is responsible for comets and asteroids to be able to COMETS AND ASTEROIDS Comet and asteroid both orbit the Sun Comets usually come from the Oort Cloud which is beyond our Solar System, and a few from Kuiper Belt which is just beyond Neptune’s orbit. Long-period comets come from the Oort cloud, while short-period  Halley’s Comet The most famous comet of the 20th century. Only known short-period comet It takes 75-79 years for Comet Halley to orbit the Sun *Long-period comets take 200 to hundred millions of years to complete their orbit around the Sun. Asteroi ds Asteroids originate from the Main Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. This belt is theorized by scientists to be remnants of a planet that did not completely form. Asteroi ds The orbit of an asteroid is more rounded and less elliptical than the orbit of a comet. The asteroid Ceres was discovered in 1801 by Guiseppe Piazzi; it is the largest asteroid. Asteroi ds Asteroids are made of rocks, ice, carbon, silica and different metals. Asteroids are also called minor planets or planetoids.  COMETS Comets come from regions of space very far from the heat and radiaton of the sun. Comets are made of frozen matter while asteroids are rocky fragments. COMETS and its parts  COMETS Comets are actually dark and invisible. When a comet is near the sun, it becomes visible because tails are formed When a comet is approaching the sun, its ion tail is behind it but when it is moving away from the sun, its ion tail goes ahead of it. Asteroid Belt  kuiper Belt & oort cloud  Metoroid/Meteor/Meteorite A meteoroid usually all burns up when it enters Earth’s atmosphere. A meteor is a light phenomenon or a streak of light that occurs when a meteoroid burns up as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. When a fragment from the meteoroid survives and  Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite? The difference is just based on where the rock is located when you are describing it.  Metoroid/Meteor/Meteorite A meteor shower is a light phenomenon caused by fragments left by a comet as they orbit the sun. When the earth orbits the sun and passes through the comet fragments, a streak ACTIVITY 2.6 (10pts) Make a graphic organizer /3 tabular columns differentiating Asteroids, Comets and Meteors. (meteoroid, meteor and meteorite)