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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors. Chapter 20. A loose collection of ice, dust and small rocky particles Orbits are very long and narrow ellipses Comprised of 2 parts: Head and Tail Originate from either Kuiper belt or Oort cloud. Comets. Two Parts: Head and Tail
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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors Chapter 20
A loose collection of ice, dust and small rocky particles • Orbits are very long and narrow ellipses • Comprised of 2 parts: Head and Tail • Originate from either Kuiper belt or Oort cloud Comets
Two Parts: Head and Tail • Comet’s Head: Comprised of Coma and Nucleus • Brightest part of comet • Nucleus is the solid inner core • Coma: Clouds of gas and dust • Coma created by Suns energy • Comet Tail: Sun heats up gas and dust of comet creating tail • Tail always points away from Sun Anatomy of a Comet
Asteroids: rocky objects too small to be considered Planets • Revolve around Sun between Mars and Jupiter • Asteroid Belt Asteroids
Meteoroids: Chunks of rock or dust in space • Come from comets or asteroids • Meteor: Created as a meteoroid enters the atmosphere • Meteorite: Meteoroids that pass through atmosphere and hit Earths Surface Meteoroids