Comets, asteroids, and meteors originate from leftover materials from the formation of the solar system. Comets come from the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud and have icy cores and dust tails. Asteroids reside in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and are composed of rock. Meteoroids are broken pieces of comets or asteroids that burn up as meteors when entering Earth's atmosphere, occasionally surviving as meteorites. They differ in size, composition, and origin, but are all natural space objects orbiting the sun.

1. S6E1.f. Compare and contrast
comets, asteroids, and meteors
What are the characteristics of
comets, asteroids, and meteors?
How are they alike/different?

2. Comets
Where do they
come from?
• ORIGIN:
• Left over from
formation of
solar system
• Kuiper Belt &
• Oort Cloud

3. Size of Comets
• About the size of
a mountain
(w/out the tail)
• Tails can be ≥ 100
million km

4. Composition of Comets
• Ice
• Dust
• Small rocky
particles

5. Parts/Vocabulary for Comets:
CORE:
• Nucleus – solid inner
core
• Coma – cloud of dust
& gas
• Tail – gas & dust can
been seen as the sun
heats the comet &
blows it away from
the sun

6. Comet’s tail ALWAYS
points away from the Sun as the solar
winds blow the tail away

7. Other details about Comets:
• A.K.A. “Dirty
Snowballs”
• Comet
means
“Long-
haired star”

8. Other details about Comets:
Comets
orbit in
long,
narrow,
elliptical
paths
around
the Sun.

9. Asteroids
Where do
asteroids come
from?
• Origin:
• “Asteroid
Belt”
between
orbits of Mars
& Jupiter

10. Size of Asteroids From < 1km to
> 300km in diameter

11. Composition of Asteroids
What are
asteroids made
of?
• Rocky objects
left over from
the formation
of the solar
system

12. Other details about asteroids
• Scientists believe
asteroids may
have caused the
extinction of the
dinosaurs

13. Other details about asteroids
• Asteroids move in very elliptical orbits
• The largest are Pallas, Juno & Vesta
*Ceres was once called
an asteroid, but is now a
dwarf planet!

14. Meteoroids
Where do
meteors come
from?
• Broken
pieces of
Comets or
Asteroids!

15. Size of meteoroids
• Smaller than the
comets or
asteroids from
which they come
(since they are
broken pieces of
these!)
The Perseid Meteor Shower (happens
every August) which has been observed
for 2000 years!

16. Composition of Meteoroids
• What are
meteors
made of?
• Rock & dust

17. Parts/Vocabulary for Meteors
• Meteoroid – CHUNK
of ROCK/DUST in
SPACE
• Meteor – STREAK of
LIGHT made by
meteoroid, burn up
as they enter Earth’s
atmosphere
• Meteorite – a
meteoroid that HITS
Earth

18. Other details about meteors
• A.K.A. “Shooting Stars”
• Meteor Showers happen regularly