What is the difference between a meteor, a meteoroid, and a meteorite?
AThey are three different names for the same thing
BA meteoroid is a small rocky body in space; a meteor is the streak of light when it enters the atmosphere; a meteorite is the piece that reaches the ground
CA meteor is in space; a meteoroid is in the atmosphere; a meteorite is on the ground
DMeteors are made of ice; meteoroids of rock; meteorites of metal
The same object has three different names depending on where it is. In space, it is a meteoroid. When it enters Earth's atmosphere and creates a streak of light (a shooting star), it becomes a meteor. If any piece survives the fiery trip through the atmosphere and lands on Earth's surface, that piece is a meteorite.
Question 2 Short Answer
Why do comet tails always point away from the Sun, even when the comet is moving away from it?
Think about your answer, then reveal below.
Model answer: Comet tails are pushed away from the Sun by solar wind (a stream of charged particles from the Sun) and radiation pressure (the pressure of sunlight itself). The direction of the tail has nothing to do with the comet's direction of travel — it always points away from the Sun. When a comet is moving away from the Sun, its tail actually leads the way.
This was an early clue about the existence of the solar wind. Comets actually have two tails: a dust tail (pushed by radiation pressure, slightly curved) and an ion tail (pushed by solar wind, straight and directly away from the Sun). Both point generally away from the Sun regardless of the comet's motion.
Question 3 True / False
Asteroids and comets are leftovers from the formation of the solar system.
TTrue
FFalse
Answer: True
Asteroids and comets are remnants of the solar nebula — the disk of gas and dust that formed the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Asteroids are rocky and metallic pieces that never accumulated into a planet (Jupiter's gravity prevented it in the asteroid belt). Comets are icy remnants preserved in the cold outer reaches of the solar system. Studying them gives scientists a window into the conditions and materials present when the solar system was born.