How Are Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors Different?  

Introduction

     WOW! Have you ever heard of a meteor shower? They are quick, bright streaks of light. They are called shooting stars. They can also have colors like white, yellow, green, or blue.

     Keep reading to find out more about meteors and other amazing parts of our solar system like asteroids and comets.

Where are Asteroids

      There are over 6,000 asteroids that have been found. Way more asteroids exist, but they are small chunks that are too small to see from Earth.

     Asteroids travel in a path around the sun like planets do. Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter. But some asteroids have been spotted on a path to Earth.

What is an Asteroid

      Asteroids orbit the sun like planets do. They are pieces of rock and metal, but they are smaller than planets. They are even smaller than our moon.

     Asteroids formed from the left over materials from when the solar system was created.                       

Ceres

     The biggest asteroid is called Ceres. It’s over 550 miles wide. That distance is about the same as it is from New York to North Carolina. See the photo that compares the size of Ceres to the size of the moon and the Earth.

     Ceres is located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. 

Meteors, Metoerites, and Meteroids

     Have you ever heard of meteor showers and meteorites? 

     When the Earth passes through the tail of a comet, lots of dust, ice, and rock pieces burn when they reach our atmosphere. These pieces of rock, ice, and dust are called meteors.

     When asteroids smash into each other, they can break into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces that break off of asteroids are called meteoroids. 

    Most meteors burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. Meteors that survive and fall down to Earth are called meteorites.

Comets

     A comet is an object in space that is made up of gas, dust, and ice. Comets go around the sun with a long tail that is made of dust and ice.

     Only in recent years have scientists been able to explore and use spacecraft to look more closely at comets. Studying comets could help scientists understand the Solar System and how it formed.

Halley’s Comet

     Have you ever heard of Halley's Comet? 

     Halley’s Comet is the most famous comet. It is named after Edmund Halley, who correctly predicted that the comet would pass by the Earth every 76 years.

     Halley’s Comet last passed by the Earth in November, 1986. Maybe you’ll be lucky to see Halley's Comet when it comes back in the year 2061.

Solar System

     The biggest objects in the Solar System are planets and their moons. The next biggest objects are asteroids. Planets and asteroids circle the sun in a path called in orbit.

Conclusion

     I created my website because I think meteors, meteor showers, meteorites, and other events that happen in the night sky are cool! I especially think it's interesting that comets have different colors of tails.