General Science- Asteroids, Comets, Etc. Flashcards
The Solar System also consists of thousands of small bodies called what?
Asteroids and Comets
The smaller fragments that are shed by comets are known as what?
Meteoroids
When meteoroids fall into Earth’s gravitational field, they are known as what 2 terms?
Falling Stars
Meteors
What layer does the meteors burn up?
Mesosphere.
The meteoroids that make it to earth’s surface are called what?
Meteorites
The belt of asteroids that divides the terrestrial planets from the outer planets AKA between Mars and Jupiter is known as What Belt?
Asteroid Belt
The belt that consists of a larger collection of asteroids and objects left over from the formation of the solar system; that lies beyond the outer planets is known as which belt?
Kuiper Belt.
Why are comets called dirty snowballs or icy mudballs?
They are a mixture of dust and ice (frozen water and gases)
Where does the dust that is in comets come from?
Stuff that didn’t get incorporated with the planets when the solar system was formed.
Comets are invisible except when?
They are near the sun.
When comets are visible near the sun, what is a feature they have?
Tails that are up to several hundred kilometers long.
The tails of comets consists of what?
Plasma, rays, and streamers caused by interactions with solar winds.
