Download out of this world: comets asteroids, and meteoroids

OUT OF THIS WORLD: COMETS
ASTEROIDS, AND METEOROIDS
Our solar system is located in the
Milky Way. The solar system
is composed of the sun, eight
planets, and moons. Most people
disregard the smaller celestial
bodies called asteroids, comets,
and meteoroids that fill our solar
system.
COMETS
Comets, commonly known as “Dirty
Snowball,” are composed of loose
collection of ice, dust, and small
rocky particles whose orbits are
usually very long, narrow ellipse.
Comets appear to be fireballs of light
zooming through the sky. When comets
get close enough to the sun, the energy
from the sunlight turns ice into gas,
releasing gas and dust.
Most comets can be found in the Kuiper belt
which is a doughnut shaped region beyond
Neptune. The Oort cloud is a spherical
region of comets that surrounds the solar
system.
ASTEROIDS
Asteroids are fragments of rock with an
irregular shape that orbit the sun. They
are too small and numerous to be
considered planets.
Most asteroids can
be found orbiting the sun
between Mars and
Jupiter. This region is
known as the asteroid
belt.
Asteroids are leftover pieces of the early
solar system that never came together to
form a planet.
METEOROIDS
Meteoroids, bits of rock and dust, which
are formed from asteroids and comets.
These small celestial objects move
throughout the solar system.
Meteors are created when a
meteoroid enters the Earth’s
atmosphere and heats up because
of the friction of the Earth’s air.
This causes a streak of light in the
sky.
Meteorites are meteoroids that
pass through the Earth’s
atmosphere and hit the Earth’s
surface.