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Asteroids and Meteoroids. Asteroids Minor planets Largest: Ceres 1000km in diameter Made of rock and metal Trojan asteroids: on either side of jupiter Earth-grazers: pass within 2x distance to the moon Meteoroids Small pieces of rock or metal in space Meters to millimeters in size
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Asteroids and Meteoroids • Asteroids • Minor planets • Largest: Ceres 1000km in diameter • Made of rock and metal • Trojan asteroids: on either side of jupiter • Earth-grazers: pass within 2x distance to the moon • Meteoroids • Small pieces of rock or metal in space • Meters to millimeters in size • Called meteors when they enter earth’s atmosphere
Meteorites • Any part of a meteor that is left when it hits earth is called a meteorite • Stony meteorite: composed of rock • Iron meteorite: composed of iron • Sony-Iron meteorite: composed of rock and iron • Largest that has been found: 45,000kg
Comets • Made of rock, metals, gases, and ice • nucleus: core of comet • coma: spherical cloud of dust and gas surrounding nucleus • tail: evaporating dust and gases, always faces away from the sun • Originate in the Oort cloud • Long period: orbit lasts longer than 100 years • Short period: orbit lasts shorter than 100 years