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20-5
Bonnie Branch 6th Grade - 20-5 / Comets, Asteroids, Meteors
Term | Definition |
---|---|
comet | A ball of ice and dust whose orbit is a long, narrow ellipse. |
asteroid | Objects revolving around the sun that are too small and too numerous to be considered planets. |
asteroid belt | The region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, where many asteroids are found. |
meteor | A streak of light in the sky produced by the burning of a meteoroid in Earth’s atmosphere. |
meteoroid | A chunk of rock or dust in space. |
meteorite | A meteoroid that has hit Earth’s surface. |
nucleus | The head or solid part of a comet. |
coma | Gas cloud that surrounds the nucleus of a comet. |
tail | Long, ribbon-like trail of comet’s dust and gas. |